Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Dendias meets with French Minister Sébastien Lecornu in Athens. The two officials discuss strengthening defense cooperation, followed by a visit to the French Frigate ALSACE (FREMM) stationed in Piraeus.
The French Minister of Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, is set to make an official visit to Athens on Monday, April 14, 2025, where he will hold discussions with Greek Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias.
The meeting between the two ministers will begin at 9:45 AM at the Ministry of National Defense in Athens, followed by expanded talks between Greek and French delegations. After the discussions, joint statements will be made to the media.
Key Topics of Discussion
The focus of the discussions will be on enhancing bilateral defense cooperation between Greece and France, developments in European defense and related industries, as well as regional and international security challenges.
Following their meeting, the ministers will visit the French Frigate ALSACE (D656), which is currently docked at the Port of Piraeus. The ALSACE is deployed as part of Operation Clemenceau 25, which started in December of the previous year and is now returning to France.
About the ALSACE Frigate
The ALSACE is an Aquitaine-class frigate of the French Navy, developed under the French-Italian FREMM multi-role frigate program.
It is the first version of the frigate with a defensive anti-aircraft system, known as FREMM DA (Frégate Européenne Multimissions de Défense Aérienne). In Italy, this class is referred to as the Bergamini-class.
During his speech at the 10th Delphi Economic Forum, Nikos Dendias confirmed that Greece intends to acquire a fourth FDI HN frigate and is in talks to procure two used Italian FREMM frigates as part of the country’s ongoing naval defense upgrades.