ATHENS ( WNAM MONITORING): Greece will press ahead with its strategic defense cooperation with Israel but also wants to deepen relations with other states in the Middle East, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Sunday.
Greece-Israeli ties and defense, security and energy cooperation have become increasingly close over the past decade and Mitsotakis enjoys a friendly rapport with his counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu. Shared concerns about Turkiye have helped boost ties. The two countries signed a 3-billion-euro ($3.5 billion) deal on Aug. 31 for Israel to build an air defense shield in Greece.
Mitsotakis told reporters in Thessaloniki that Greece is only one of five NATO countries spending at least 3.5 percent of its GDP on core defense.
Greece’s traditionally high spending has been fueled by almost constant tensions with Turkiye, and its questioning of Greek sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece recognizes only the demarcation of the two countries’ respective maritime zones as an issue to be negotiated or sent to international arbitration.
Asked about US President Donald Trump’s expressed desire to sell the advanced F-35 multirole combat aircraft to Turkiye, Mitsotakis replied that he will not tell the US what to do, but noted that legal obstacles remain as Turkiye was sanctioned for buying the S-400 air defense system from Russia.
Greece will take delivery of its first 20 F-35s in late 2028, with an option to buy 20 more.
Mitsotakis also said he planned to visit Saudi Arabia soon, and that the recently concluded Makkah Joint Defense Agreement among Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye changes nothing in Greece’s relations with Riyadh.
Mitsotakis will visit Cairo on Tuesday for talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi.
