We are ready for any event, even the worst possible scenario, Hardalias says

In order to upgrade the capabilities of the Armed Forces, the Deputy Minister of National Defence noted that "expenditures for armaments programmes, by their nature, cannot be compared to any other category of expenditures, since they aim to protect the highest public good of national defence."

"And national defence is the necessary prerequisite for the realisation of all the other national goals, the very foundation of our country's existence," he added.

The dilemma "armaments or fiscal stability", as he said, "is deceptive and those who use it are left exposed. We need both fiscal balance and a robust national defence. This government has proved it can deliver both."

Regarding Turkey, Hardalias underlined that it "continues to act as a factor of instability and the stoking of tension in the wider region of the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond."