The US Ambassador to Greece, Geoffrey R. Pyatt attended the 2017 “Iniohos” military exercise that kicked off at Andraviga air base. The military exercise is led by the Hellenic Air Force and includes forces of NATO allies and partner nations. The US, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Italy also took part in the exercise, expanded to include land and navy forces for the first time. Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said that the exercise sent a clear geopolitical message, as a new alliance of stability was expanding to the southern borders of Greece which encompassed Cyprus. The exercise “Iniohos” dates back to the late 1980’s, when it was established as a small scale air warfare exercise with only aircraft of the Hellenic Air Force.