Maj. Epaminondas Kosteas died when a training jet he was piloting crashed shortly after take-off a half mile north of the Kalamata civilian/military airport

The exercise has been held annually since 2008, bringing NATO allies and partners together to enhance the military bloc's ability to deter, defend against, and counter threats in cyberspace

The comments, made on the sidelines of a military exercise in NE Greece, come less than two weeks before an official visit to Athens by Turkish President Erdogan