Stefanis for Turkey during the delivery – receipt at the MINISTRY: The army will monitor what is happening

In an atmosphere of emotion, the handover ceremony of the duties of the Minister of National Defense was held by the late minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos to the official Alcibiades Stefani.

N. Panagiotopoulos characterized the four years at the ministry as “difficult and exciting”, and added: “We have weathered the crises and the efforts to strengthen the Armed Forces are continuous and the result of a team effort”.

“The effort to strengthen Greece and its deterrent force does not stop,” he pointed out.

He thanked the men and women of the Armed Forces “throughout the length and breadth of the country” for accomplishing their mission.

For his part, the late Deputy Minister Nikos Hardalias said goodbye saying meaningfully “mission accomplished”.

Essentially, he repeated the words that had been said by the acting minister Al. Stefanis when almost two years ago he had left the position of Deputy Minister to be succeeded by N. Hardalias. He thanked N. Panagiotopoulos for his trust in him and the head of GEETHA, general K. Floros and the leaders of the Branches for their cooperation.

The general secretary of the ministry, Antonios Oikonomou, thanked N. Panagiotopoulos and N. Hardalia for the perfect cooperation, while for Alk. Stefani emphasized: “He said goodbye to him two years ago and today I welcome him. The saying that life comes full circle is very true.”

The acting minister Alk. Stefanis emphasized: “Serving the homeland is an honor, but primarily it is a duty”.

“The mission of the Armed Forces is continuous, and we are mere functionaries of the institutional role of the Armed Forces,” he added.

He characterized N. Panagiotopoulos “soldier and worker” who paid “due respect to the officers of the Armed Forces” while about N. Hardalia he said that “when I handed over my duties to him I was happy because I handed them over to a workaholic man” who was touring Greece and “the presence of the ministry was everywhere” .

He thanked the leader of GEETHA, whom he described as “a valuable tool, a pillar of the nation” while emphasizing that in today’s cabinet he assured acting Prime Minister Ioannis Sharma that ahead of the Turkish elections, and given “that the Armed Forces have to monitor what’s going on, we’re sure we’re doing it in the best way.”

“The mission of the caretaker government is the preservation of the state so that there is no vacuum in power” he underlined.

This was followed by the presentation of commemorative gifts by the military leadership and the minister of the ministry to the late minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and the late deputy minister Nikos Hardalia.

The acting minister Alk. Stefanis was welcomed by the outgoing minister N. Panagiotopoulos and the head of GEETHA, while a commander of the Armed Forces paid his respects.