Mitsotakis Announces Salary Increases for Armed Forces & Reaffirms Stance on Ukraine

From Paris, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced new salary increases for uniformed personnel as part of a revised grading and pay scale for the Armed Forces. This initiative, developed with the Finance Ministry, aims to attract more young recruits.

“It is not enough just to buy modern weapons; we must ensure that officers are paid appropriately,” Mitsotakis stated, emphasizing the need for comprehensive payroll reform. These changes will be presented in early April in Parliament alongside the 12-year Long-Term Defense Armaments Planning, outlining Greece’s future military strategy and procurement.

Greece has long exceeded NATO’s 2% GDP defense spending target, even during the height of its public debt crisis. In fact, in 2015, while struggling with austerity measures, Greece outspent all other European nations on defense as a percentage of GDP.

The announcement coincides with tensions over provocative nationalist slogans chanted by Navy academy students during the March 25 parade. The government has sought to contain political fallout while the Ministry of National Defense investigates the issue internally.

On Ukraine, Mitsotakis reaffirmed that Greece will not send troops as part of the “alliance of the willing,” instead advocating for a ceasefire and further support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces. “The common ground and position of the Greek government is that the strongest guarantee of Ukraine’s security is the strengthening of Ukraine’s own armed forces, and I believe that all the forces that participated in today’s conference agreed in this direction,” he said.

Mitsotakis also urged pressure on Russia to stop attacks on critical infrastructure, paving the way for a ceasefire and long-term peace negotiations.

Source: Tovima.com