Visit of the Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias to Cyprus

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Visit of the Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendias to Cyprus

March 3, 2026

The Minister of National Defence Nikos Dendiasconducted today, Tuesday 3 March 2026, a visit to Cyprus, accompanied by the Chief of HNDGS General Dimitrios Choupis.

At the beginning of his visit, the Minister of National Defence went to the Nicosia Presidential Palace, where he was received by the President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulidis.

Replying to the address of Mr Christodoulidis at the beginning of the meeting, Mr Dendias stated:

"Mr President, dear Nikos, I am really happy to be here today, at the Presidential Palace. Thank you for receiving me.

I came to communicate to you, and to Vasilis (Palmas), but also to the whole Cypriot people the support of the Prime Minister, the Government of Greece, but also - and I say this from the heart - of the whole Greek society, of the Greek people.

The times are truly hard for our wider region. However, Greece wants to declare, in the most categorical way - a way that contains symbolism and substance as you correctly remarked - its volition to provide, to the best of its power and ability, any help it can to Cyprus, to the Cypriot people, to all the legal inhabitants of the Republic of Cyprus.

I am glad I am here today. Later, me and Vasilis Palmas will have a discussion, regarding the practical side of this assistance and we will examine other possible aspects. As a whole, we are completely at your disposal.

Once more, I warmly thank you for the particularly complimentary and cordial reception, same as always".

Other attendees at the meeting were: the Chief of HNDGS General D. Choupis, the Chief of the Hellenic National Guard General Staff Lieutenant General Emmanouil Theodorou, the Defence Minister of the Republic of Cyprus Vasilis Palmas, the Ambassador of Greece in Nicosia Konstantinos Kolliasand the Diplomatic Councillor of the Minister of National Defence, Ambassador Giorgos Arnaoutis.

After the meeting with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, the Minister stated:

"Today, I had the pleasure and honour of being received by the President of the Republic of Cyprus, my friend Nikos Christodoulidis, along with my colleague, Minister Vasilis Palmas.

The President briefed me on the situation. I communicated to him the support of the Prime Minister, of the Greek Government and of the Greek people as a whole.

We always stand by the side of the Republic of Cyprus. By the side of the island of Cyprus. By the side of the legal inhabitants of the Republic of Cyprus.

All other aspects will be analysed at the Defence Ministry, by me and Vasilis.

Thank you very much".

Later, Mr Dendias visited the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, where he met with his counterpart, V. Palmas.

After the reception, a private meeting was conducted between the two Ministers and the two delegations conducted talks.

During the meeting, the exquisite level of the bilateral cooperation between Greece and Cyprus was affirmed, the security situation was evaluated and emphasis was given to the optimal coordination of the two states' actions in the field of Defence.

During the joint statements to the Press, the Minister of National Defence stressed the following:

"Dear Vasilis, I would like to thank the President Nikos Christodoulidis and you for the cordial reception during a critical moment for our wider region.

I have repeatedly stated that for Greece, for the Greek society, for the Nation, Cyprus "does not lie far away". And today, the Greek Government proves that Cyprus "doth lie nearby". Greece is present and will continue to do so throughout the crisis, to contribute in any possible way to the defence of the Republic of Cyprus, so as to protect all of the island's legal inhabitants and deter all threats and any illegal actions.

Cyprus, as you said earlier and as was stated by President Christodoulidis, does not participate in the military operations against Iran.

Consequently, we stress that any targeting of the countries that do not participate in the hostilities is prohibited.

Upon decision of the Governmental Council for National Security, two pairs of F-16 fighter aircraft are already on Cyprus and two frigates of the Hellenic Navy are currently sailing to Cyprus.

The "PSARA" Frigate is equipped with the anti-UAV Centaur system, a system produced by the Greek innovation ecosystem and has already been successfully tested in the European Operation "ASPIDES" in the Red Sea.

The other Frigate, Frigate "KIMON", is the most modern frigate on the planet. Furthermore, the historical analogy does not escape our notice. Kimon returns to Cyprus. The choice of the Greek Government is clear, as a national obligation but also, I have to say, as a European obligation.

Today, with President Christodoulidis, by whom I had the honour of being received earlier, but also with the Defence Minister, my friend Vasilis Palmas, we agreed to maintain our regular contact, in absolute concert, with a common sense of responsibility towards the citizens of the Hellenic Republic and the Republic of Cyprus.

And please allow me one final remark. I believe that through this cooperation, through the presence of our aircraft, through the presence of our frigates, we honour the memory of Grigoris Afxentiou in the best possible way".

Mr Dendias was later received by the Archbishop of Nova Justiniana and All Cyprus Mr Georgios, in the Holy Archdiocese of Cyprus.

Then he went to the Filakismena Mnimata (Imprisoned Graves), in Nicosia, where he laid a wreath on the grave of Grigoris Afxentiou, on the day marking 69 years since his sacrifice.

Finally, the Minister visited the "Andreas Papandreou" Paphos Air Base accompanied by Mr Palmas, where the two pairs of F-16 fighter aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force have landed.