RAdm (ret.) Efstathios (Stathis) Kyriakidis
Rear Admiral (ret) Stathis Kyriakidis is the former Commandant of NATO Maritime Interdiction Operational Training Center (NMIOTC). Having been mostly assigned policy related duties, he served as Director Plans/Policy and POLAD to the Chief of the Navy, Special Advisor to the Chief of Defence, he also commanded the frigate HS ELLI and the gunboat HS KRATAIOS, as her first commanding officer and the co-chair of her commissioning committee, on behalf of MoD.
His assignments abroad include a tour in the EU Military Staff as Head of Division Operations Coordination and Executive Director EU Maritime Area of Interest Coordination Cell (2019-2022) and in NATO (2011-2014) as Staff Officer responsible for the NATO Response Force and member of the planning team after the Russian annexation of Crimea (2014). He holds MSc in Applied Physics and Computer Science (NPS, California, USA, 1998) and a Certificate of Advanced Studies in European Security (University of Geneva, 2008). He studied Public Communication and Media (Panteion University, Greece, 1994). He has published several studies and articles in Greek Defence related press. He is fluent in English and French, and also speaks Spanish and some Arabic.
See all the recent scientific and research publications written by the expert.
Naval Blockade vs Maritime Interdiction Operations
The legal and strategic significance of distinguishing naval blockades from Maritime Interdiction Operations targeting Iran, emphasizing implications for maritime security, navigation rights, and international law.
The role of the Munich Security Conference in Global Security
The Munich Security Conference is a high-level coordination hub, enabling strategic signaling, agenda-setting, and informal bargaining that often shapes subsequent formal security policy decisions.
Hamas: The face of evil
On 7 October 2023, over 1,200 killed and 250 abducted in Israel, reshaping debates on Hamas’s origins, governance, and future trajectories amid ceasefire and unresolved disarmament.
Gulf Cooperation Council: Political and Military Aspirations and Reality.
The GCC, formed in 1981 amid geopolitical shifts (Iran’s Revolution, Iran-Iraq War), unites six Gulf monarchies for economic integration, political alignment, and collective defense (Peninsula Shield Force).
Houthis of Yemen: The ‘Partisans of God’
The Houthis, an Iran-backed Yemeni group, escalated regional tensions with long-range attacks, prompting international military responses, humanitarian crisis, and fragile negotiations shaping Yemen’s future.
EU Common Defence: Is it for real?
EU summit on 6th of March 25 approved ‘ReArm Europe’, a €800B plan for defense, to counter Russia and reduce reliance on USA support, towards EU’s strategic autonomy.
