Pressure on Greece to Sell Mirage Fighters to Ukraine: Athens at a Diplomatic Crossroads

Athens is facing expanding pressure from NATO allies to see selling portion of its 24 Mirage 2000-5 combatant jets to Ukraine, strengthening Kyiv’s defence against Russia. The petition comes chiefly from the United States and France, portion Eastern NATO countries, specified as Czechia and even Estonia, person expressed willingness to enactment arsenic intermediaries successful specified a deal.

However, the Greek government remains cautious, recognizing the geopolitical risks of hostility with Moscow. Transferring precocious fighters that would beryllium utilized straight against Russian forces could strain already fragile Greece-Russia relations and perchance weaken the country’s ain defence capabilities.

In this context, Greece has opted to provide older subject equipment, specified as 60 self-propelled M-110 howitzers, which volition beryllium delivered to Czechia and past forwarded to Ukraine. In return, Greece volition receive modern 155mm ammunition and spare parts for older vehicles, ensuring the reinforcement of its ain defence capabilities.

At the aforesaid time, the U.S. has requested Greece’s information successful the PURL (Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List) initiative, aimed astatine the rapid and effectual proviso of antiaircraft instrumentality to Ukraine, inviting confederate NATO countries, including Greece, to fortify the enactment concatenation for Kyiv.

Greece finds itself successful a delicate geopolitical balancing act: connected 1 hand, it seeks to stay a reliable NATO and EU ally by contributing to Ukraine’s defense; connected the different hand, it aims to protect its nationalist defense and debar nonstop confrontation with Russia.

The last determination by Athens volition importantly signifier the country’s presumption connected the strategical representation of Eastern Europe, influencing its relations with some allies and adversaries amid the analyzable West-Russia balance.