By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) - Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias repeated his country’s strong opposition to the sale of Meteor missiles to Türkiye in a meeting with his British counterpart in London, local media reported on Tuesday.
The Greek government has been lobbying against Türkiye’s plan to acquire a large number of Meteor missiles following a formal proposal submitted in January, according to the Greek daily Ekathimerini.
The Meteor is an active radar-guided beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile developed and manufactured by the multinational corporation MBDA, which is jointly owned by French, British, and Italian companies.
As part of its efforts to bolster its air defense in the face of growing regional threats, Türkiye is also engaged in negotiations to purchase up to 40 EF-2000 Eurofighter jets. The Meteor missiles are reportedly included in that package.
Greece, which stepped up its arms purchases in recent years, including the modernization of its F-16 fleet and the purchase of French-made Rafale jets equipped with Meteor missiles, opposes any sale of the missiles to Türkiye.
On Jan. 29, Dendias announced that he had summoned the French ambassador and military attache in Athens to convey Greece’s strong opposition to the sale.
On Feb. 4, according to Greek media, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis discussed the missile sale with French President Emmanuel Macron during their meeting on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.
Macron reportedly rejected Mitsotakis’ request to block the sale, emphasizing that the deal falls outside French jurisdiction.