The “Parmenion” annual national defence exercise wrapped up on Thursday in eastern Rhodes in the presence of Defence Minister Panos Kammenos, Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis, the chiefs of all branches of the Greek defence forces, and regional administration staff.

Personnel from all branches of the defence forces took part in the exercise.

The minister said that the challenges Greece faces “do not allow us to fall into complacency”, and thanked members of all services for their dedication and hard work. He also paid special tribute to the member of the volunteer local National Guard Zissimos Bratis, 92, for his long service to the country.

It became known that during the final night stage of the exercise, Turkish drones were spying on the Greek forces, something that forced the Chief of the Hellenic National Defence General Staff, Admiral Evangelos Apostolakis to contact his Turkish counterpart and tell him that if they do not withdraw their UAVs he will give the order to them down. The drones left five minutes after the call.

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