



Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Wednesday accompanied Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos to the Salamis Naval Base on the island of Salamina near Athens.

It is the first visit by a foreign president to the headquarters of the Hellenic Navy Fleet.

Rivlin spoke of the war in Syria and its impact on the surrounding region, Israel and Europe as a whole.

The key to stability in the region will be the creation of a joint regional force through Greek-Israeli military cooperation, he said, while he noted that such cooperation will serve and contribute to the security of both countries.

Rivlin also expressed hope that cooperation with Greece will continue and make progress in all areas.

Kammenos said the presence of Israel’s president at the Greek Navy’s fleet headquarters sent a very strong message of peace, cooperation, stability and progress.

He referred to an “axis of stability” built up in recent years through the efforts of the two countries and their armed forces, “in cooperation with all the moderate countries of the surrounding region” in order to stop those seeking to transport terrorism and fundamentalism to the Mediterranean and the West.

Wrapping up his visit to the naval base, Rivlin boarded the gunboat Daniolos and was shown around the site of the historic naval battle of Salamis, fought by the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 480 BC.

The Israeli president commented that “the events that occurred here changed the course of world history”.

Source: ANMA



