Working with the US ‘benefits our country greatly’

Talks between Athens and Washington on modernizing the mutual defense cooperation agreement between the two NATO allies is close to completion, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos tells Kathimerini in an interview.

He says that among the main points being discussed at the moment are the use of the port at Souda Bay on Crete, the use of a section of the port at Alexandroupoli, northern Greece, the establishment of a helicopter training base in central Greece, and the use of American unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) by the Hellenic Armed Forces.
The minister says that "there are several areas of a legal nature that still need to be clarified but we are in a very good place and I believe that we will have a final agreement very soon." Furthermore, he stresses that Athens wants to keep a line of communication open with Ankara, adding that Greece's armed forces are...