The British "enter the race" of frigates sales for the Greek Navy, according to British diplomatic sources, while also revealing that the aircraft carrier "Queen Elizabeth" is expected to come to Greece and then will be deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.
Greece and the United Kingdom are working to establish a strategic partnership that will cover all areas of cooperation and will be the starting point for new bilateral relations in the post-Brexit era, British diplomatic sources claim, on the occasion of the recent meeting of Foreign Ministers Nikos Dendias and Dominic Raab in London.
This is an agreement that will cover cooperation in the fields of defense, security, tourism, education, trade, culture, counter-terrorism, which is expected to be concluded in the coming months and will be coordinated by the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs.
The other pillar of the contacts that the Greek Foreign Minister had with his British counterpart and the Undersecretary of the European Neighborhood and America concerned the situation in the Eastern Mediterranean and the prospects for resolving the Cyprus issue.
Mr. Raab "warmly welcomed the exploratory contacts" of Greece with Turkey and expressed the position that "the de-escalation of tension and the avoidance of challenges" would be important preconditions for the successful outcome of the contacts.
The same sources pointed out that due to the very good relations between Great Britain and Turkey, Great Britain can send messages to Ankara for the benefit of both Greece and Cyprus and Turkey, given that now that Great Britain does not belong in the EU has more room for independent foreign policy.
Cyprus issue
After the meeting with Mr. Dendias in London, Mr. Raab visited Cyprus with the wish, which he expressed to the Greek Foreign Minister, "Great Britain to contribute as a guarantor force and to the best of its potential" in resolving the Cyprus issue.
Mr. Raab confirmed to his Greek counterpart that the United Kingdom supports a solution to the Cyprus problem on the basis of a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and in accordance with United Nations resolutions, in which - according to diplomatic sources - there is room for specialization. In fact, Great Britain will support the solution to which the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides and the other two guarantor powers will agree.
The United Kingdom's position, according to the same diplomatic sources, is that governance issues on the island will only concern the two communities, while the British side has a say in security issues, considering the guarantee regime "obsolete".
Also, in the context of the pursuit of security and stability in the region, Great Britain "wants a solution" to the Cyprus problem and expresses "optimism" for the convening of the informal pentagon, which is expected for the beginning of March, while it is asked if this meeting will trigger the negotiation process and whether the new starting point will be a reference to the UN Secretary-General.
Defense - Eastern Mediterranean
Defense and security are key arms of the new strategic partnership as well as the framework agreement that the two sides are expected to sign.
The text on defense cooperation is already ready and is being reviewed in order to update it on the occasion of the recent meeting of the two Foreign Ministers.
Britain also wants to have a bigger presence in the Eastern Mediterranean, something Mr Raab has asked Dendias to do, according to the same sources. In this spirit, the new aircraft carrier Queen Elisabeth is expected in Piraeus in the summer and from there on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean and Asia, which during its course will participate in military exercises with friendly countries.
Britain has also expressed interest in participating in the Greek government's program for military equipment, namely the "type 31" frigates.
