Athens, not for the first time, faces pressure from NATO allies to provide substantial aid to Ukraine, mainly through reselling some of its 25 Mirage 2000-5 fighters to intermediaries.

The pressure is testing Greece’s strong reluctance to provide high-tech systems to be used against Russia and its preference to contribute through antiquated weapons systems, with some, such as the 60 self-propelled 203 mm M-110 howitzers, which have been part of the Army’s arsenal since the 1960s.

The pressure for something more than a token contribution comes mostly from the United States and France, but also from Eastern European countries that are closer to the Ukraine battlefield and more sensitized to the Ukrainian danger. The US is pushing Greece to acquire more of its own weapons systems through the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative, in which, so far, mainly Baltic and Scandinavian countries have participated.

In case Greece decides to go ahead, a doubtful outcome, it would sell the Mirage 2000-5s to intermediaries such as the US, France and Germany, but also lesser powers such as the Czech Republic and Estonia. The latter, especially, one of Ukraine’s staunchest supporters, has expressed interest in buying some of the fighters. The intermediaries would then resell to Ukraine, or provide it with other aircraft.

Greece has already purchased 24 more advanced Rafale fighters from France and, given that technical support for the 2000-5s will cease in 2027, seeks to offload the older fighters. But discussions with India to sell them hit an impasse and there were no takers from other Balkan countries either. Greece is in talks with France for the acquisition of another 6-12 Rafales and is bargaining for a lower price in exchange for selling some of the 2000-5s.

Greece also is under pressure to allow Turkey to take part in the EU’s €150 billion SAFE program of loans for military procurements, mainly for symbolic reasons since Ankara has bilateral cooperation agreements with many EU members. Greece is adamantly opposed to that while Ankara continues to dispute its sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea.

In the ongoing 7th Summit of the 47-member European Political Community, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Tuesday that military protection should be provided beyond NATO’s eastern flank.

Source: Ekathimerini.com