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For the eighth year in a row, Greece has invited NATO partners and regional allies to take part in an annual air force exercise at the Andravida military base near the southern city of Kalamata.
The exercise, dubbed “Iniochos”, which is consolidating as the largest air force in Europe, involves 130 aircraft from the United States, France, Israel, Italy, Slovenia and Cyprus, sending a clear message to Moscow.
“This exercise is also particularly important for our NATO alliance, it sends a particularly strong message of determination at a time when Russia has brought war to Europe, to European soil by invading and ruthlessly destroying Ukraine.”says Nikos Panagiotopoulos, Greek Minister of Defense.
“Iniochos” takes place in parallel with the Allied Special Operations exercise “Orion” which includes military forces from Cyprus, Israel, USA, France and Bulgaria.
““Greece’s ability to unite allies and partners, to develop capacity and to signal determination is now more important than ever, as we as an alliance and the democratic world respond to the tremendous aggression that Russia is committing against Ukraine.”says Geoffrey Pyatt, US Ambassador to Greece.
Greece signed on Thursday on the eve of Greece’s national holiday, aboard a 112-year-old warship currently a museum, a new military agreement with France and two French contractors worth about 4 billion euros.
The deal includes the purchase of three naval frigates and six new-generation French Rafale fighter jets as part of Greece’s multibillion-dollar military modernization program and the strengthening of its armed forces in response to Greece’s ongoing tensions with Turkey, during which is strongly supported by France.
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