Greece and Israel Boost Military Co-Operation

Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos and his Israeli counterpart Moshe Ya’alon signed the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which allows Greek and Israeli soldiers to station in Greece or Israel.

According to the Greek newspaper, To Vima, Greece is the second country in the world which signed the SOFA with Israel. The other country is the United States of America (USA.) Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos visited his Israeli counterpart Moshe Ya’alon at the Defense Ministry, where the accord was signed three days ago.

“We very much appreciate your visit here during a difficult period for Greece. This underlines the importance of relations between the countries,” Ya’alon said. “We wish the Greek people and Greece itself success in its effort to overcome the economic challenge. We pray for that since we believe Greece is a very important country, with a history and a contribution to the history of humanity.”

According to Jerusalem Post, Ya’alon paid tribute to joint training between the Israeli Defence Forces and Greek military within Greece, adding that both countries have shared interests, and both are dealing with the Iranian nuclear deal. Kammenos said that Greece is within range of Iranian missiles, and “If one Iranian missile makes its way to the Mediterranean, this could be the end of states in this region.”

Greece wants to boost cooperation with Israel, as besides military cooperation the two countries signed an agreement to cooperate on hydrographic activities. The Greek Ministry of National Defence announced on 20 July, that the two Ministers discussed about issues pertinent to maritime security and to the security of the energy resources within the EEZ of Greece, Cyprus and Israel. Issues of cooperation in the field of defence industry and issues regarding energy transfer, not only at a “Government to Government” level, but at a “Business to Business” level were discussed as well.