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Greece will participate in the shield developed by NATO initially by installing Patriot missiles. The country's involvement in it will be one of the two main topics to be discussed during today's visit of the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, Admiral James Stavridis, to Athens. The next stop in his tour is Ankara.

In Athens, he will meet with Minister of Defence Dimitris Avramopoulos and National Defence General Staff Chief Lieutenant General Michalis Kostarakos. The issue of the final allocation of positions in the new NATO Command Structure, following the decision to reform adopted in 2011, will also be discussed during the talks.

According to sources, James Stavridis' visit is closely connected with the fact that the forthcoming summit of NATO in Chicago in May should announce the first decisions about the future of missile defence (Interim Capability). It will continue to evolve over the next 3-4 years but the rules for participation of the states must be determined before the meeting in Chicago.

The contribution of each member state is expected to be announced at this stage. Meanwhile, the USA, which will provide most of the equipment, is in bilateral negotiations with other states on the installation or deployment of specific systems in their territories. According to some information, Spain is ready to offer the use of a naval base where ships equipped with the Aegis radar system can anchor, France offers four frigates, and there is an installed radar in Turkey already.

Athens has agreed to provide Patriot missiles for the operation of the shield but the place where they will be installed is secret. However, talks are still ongoing about the possibility of deploying an American ship equipped with the Aegis system in Greek territorial waters in the Aegean Sea.

In terms of its involvement in the new command structure, Greece continues to claim few but high-ranking positions, emphasizing the prevention of Turkish actions in the airspace over the Aegean Sea. According to Greek sources, discontent prevails in Ankara due to the loss of the air-force headquarters in Izmir, which was converted into land.

At the last meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels, the defence minister of Turkey tried to make a proposal for extending the operation of the new headquarters in the airspace too. But his request was rejected both by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and US Minister of Defence, Leon Panetta.