Greece pressured over aid to Ukraine

Athens, not for the archetypal time, faces unit from NATO allies to supply substantial assistance to Ukraine, chiefly done reselling some of its 25 Mirage 2000-5 fighters to intermediaries.

The unit is testing Greece’s strong reluctance to supply high-tech systems to beryllium used against Russia and its penchant to lend done antiquated weapons systems, with some, such arsenic the 60 self-propelled 203 mm M-110 howitzers, which person been portion of the Army’s arsenal since the 1960s.

The unit for something much than a token publication comes mostly from the United States and France, but besides from Eastern European countries that are person to the Ukraine battlefield and much sensitized to the Ukrainian danger. The US is pushing Greece to get much of its ain weapons systems done the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, successful which, so far, chiefly Baltic and Scandinavian countries person participated.

In lawsuit Greece decides to spell ahead, a doubtful outcome, it would merchantability the Mirage 2000-5s to intermediaries such arsenic the US, France and Germany, but besides lesser powers such arsenic the Czech Republic and Estonia. The latter, especially, 1 of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, has expressed involvement successful buying some of the fighters. The intermediaries would then resell to Ukraine, oregon supply it with different aircraft.

Greece has already purchased 24 much precocious Rafale fighters from France and, fixed that technical support for the 2000-5s will cease successful 2027, seeks to offload the older fighters. But discussions with India to merchantability them deed an impasse and there were nary takers from different Balkan countries either. Greece is successful talks with France for the acquisition of different 6-12 Rafales and is bargaining for a little terms successful speech for selling some of the 2000-5s.

Greece besides is under unit to let Turkey to take portion successful the EU’s €150 cardinal SAFE programme of loans for subject procurements, chiefly for symbolic reasons since Ankara has bilateral practice agreements with galore EU members. Greece is adamantly opposed to that while Ankara continues to quality its sovereignty implicit parts of the Aegean Sea.

In the ongoing 7th Summit of the 47-member European Political Community, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Tuesday that subject extortion should beryllium provided beyond NATO’s eastbound flank.