“Today we state once again that this land, these seas, this air was and will always be Greek and there are no gray zones in the Aegean Sea”, stressed Deputy Minister of Shipping and Island Policy Nektarios Santorinios during his speech in Karpathos, at the events commemorating Konstantinos Iliakis, who was killed while dogfighting with a Turkish airplane, on May 23, 2006.

The memorial events were held on Friday for the 12th consecutive year in Karpathos, at the monument that has been erected in his honor, in the presence of representatives of the political and military leadership and local authorities.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Hellenic Armed Forces, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, stated:

“The loss of Kostas Iliakis is a timeless message for all Greeks. A message of faith and loyalty and love for the homeland that our Armed Forces send daily to the Greek people. The sacrifice of Kostas Iliakis, George Baltadoros and all the members of the Armed Forces who have fallen for our homeland strengthens our determination to defend our national independence against every attacker”.