The Minister of National Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos received today in his office at the Ministry of National Defence a delegation of representatives of the Hellenic-American organisations AHI and AHEPA, as well as of US American-Israeli organisations, on the occasion of a visit these representatives pay to Greece, Cyprus and Israel.
The Minister of National Defence briefed the delegations on the developments of the Hellenic-Israeli and Hellenic-American relations, as well as the initiatives our country took for the establishment of peace, security, stability and cooperation in South-eastern Europe and Eastern Mediterranean.
Mr. Avramopoulos stressed that Greece plays a stabilizing role in the region and that it maintains, despite the crisis, one of the most capable and reliable defence systems in Europe.
As far as relations with Israel are concerned, the Minister of National Defence estimates that they develop in an excellent manner across all areas and, of course, defence.
“Our bilateral relations do not turn against others. On the contrary, they remain within the context of the International Law and in the service of international organisations in order to promote peace and cooperation in our region”, stated Mr. Avramopoulos and explained that organising common exercises is a message of peace and a guarantee of stability.
In the end, during the meeting, the participants exchanged views about the crisis in Syria, the developments in the Middle East and the Balkans.
The Chief of HNDGS General Michail Kostarakos was also present at the meeting.
The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) was represented in the delegation of the Hellenic and Jewish communities by Mr. Nick Larigakis, Mr. James Lagos, Mr. Kostas Alexakis and Mr. Peter Bota. The organisation AHEPA was represented by Mr. Antony Kouzounis, Mr. Vasilis Mosaidis, Mr. Nick Aroutzidis and Mr. Andrew Kaffes.
The American-Israeli organisations were represented in the delegation by Mr. Malcolm Hoelein, Mr. Richard Stone, Mr. Allan Jacobs, Mr. Dan Mariaschin, Mr. Robert Sugarman, Mr. William Bram and Mr. Alan Schneider.