Alkiviadis Stefanis

A 16-member caretaker government, led by senior judge Ioannis Sarmas, will be sworn in at noon at the Presidential Mansion.

The list of caretaker government ministers set to assume leadership for a month leading up to the second round of elections on June 25 was officially announced on Thursday.

Planning at a both European and a bilateral, as well as at a national level, so as to protect the borders and avoid a new humanitarian crisis was put in place during the Government National Security Council (KYSEA), chaired by the Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

Today marks forty-seven years since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.

A memorial service will be held at the Tomb of Makedonitissa for those killed during the Turkish invasion, in the presence of the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nikos Anastasiadis, as well as the Minister of National Defense of Greece, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, who is in Cyprus.

Greece's armed forces are setting up a field hospital with more than 50 beds in the northern city of Thessaloniki as part of plans to tackle a surge in the number of coronavirus infections and hospitalizations, a senior Defense Ministry official said on Monday.

Greece's Defense Council was on Tuesday meeting under Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos amid an escalation of tensions with Turkey, state-run Athens-Macedonia news agency said, quoting ministry sources.

The meeting was attended by deputy National Defense Minister Alkiviadis Stefanis and the country's top military brass.

Migrants amassed at the Greek-Turkish border made about 9,600 attempts to enter Greece overnight, Deputy Defense Minister Alkiviadis Stefanis said Sunday.

All attempts were successfully thwarted, Stefanis said before leaving for the border area.

At the border crossing of Kastanies, there are at least 3,000 migrants waiting to cross into Greece, authorities estimate.

Greek government officials will meet at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Prime Minister's office to discuss the latest developments after Turkey's decision to push migrants and refugees to the border with Greece, essentially inviting them to cross over.

Deputy Defense Minister Alkiviadis Stefanis said on Thursday that Greece is maintaining dialogue with Turkey but that the country's armed forces are on standby.

"Diplomacy is the first choice," he told Skai radio. "We have open channels of communication but the armed forces are ready to do what is necessary in coordination with the Foreign Ministry," he added.

Deputy Defense Minister Alkiviadis Stefanis said migration is a "matter of national security" and is being handled as such, while expressing support for a plan to install a floating barrier in the Aegean Sea to prevent migrant boats from entering Greece's waters.