NATO members, mainly the US and France, are pressuring Athens to consider reselling part of its fleet of 25 Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to intermediaries with the ultimate goal of transferring them to Ukraine.
This was reported by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, citing sources, according to Ukrinform, reports Telegraph.
According to them, it is noticeable that the pressure is coming mainly from the US and France, as well as from Eastern European countries that are closer to Ukraine and more aware of the dangers threatening Ukraine.
The US is pressuring Greece to buy more weapons systems as part of the Priority Urgent Requirements List (PURL) initiative, in which so far mainly the Baltic and Scandinavian countries have participated.
“If Greece decides to proceed, it would sell the Mirage 2000-5 to intermediaries such as the US, France and Germany, but also to smaller powers such as the Czech Republic and Estonia. The latter, in particular, one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, has expressed interest in purchasing some of the fighter jets,” the medium wrote.
Despite the growing pressure, diplomatic sources cited say Athens remains against the idea.
Greece reportedly does not want to risk its advanced military technology being used in a direct confrontation with Russia.
Greece has already purchased 24 modern Rafale fighter jets from France and, given that technical support for the 2000-5 aircraft will end in 2027, is looking to get rid of its aging fighter jets.
However, negotiations with India for their sale have reached a deadlock and no buyers have been found in other Balkan countries.
Greece is negotiating with France to buy another Rafale 6-12 aircraft and is negotiating a lower price in exchange for the sale of some of the 2000-5 aircraft.
As Euractiv notes, since the start of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Greece has provided Ukraine with armored vehicles, missiles, rifles, and has also participated in the training of F-16 fighter pilots.
However, it rejected Kiev’s request for Patriot or S-300 air defense systems.
In addition, Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis recently stated that Greece would not send troops to Ukraine as part of any future European security guarantee.
As reported by Ukrinform, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that the process of peaceful resolution of the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine should begin with an immediate ceasefire, while no peace formula is acceptable without Ukraine’s presence at the negotiating table and the preservation of internationally recognized borders. /Telegraph/