Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis sent a pointed message to Turkey today (Sunday) amid his country’s military buildup and ongoing tensions between Athens and Ankara.
2+Mitsotakis addressed the upgrade of Greece’s F-16 fleet and the country’s entry into the F-35 program, claiming the moves give Athens a significant edge in the air power balance.
“Greece has succeeded today in upgrading its F-16s, and is now receiving F-35s. This gives us a very significant advantage—I would even dare call it superiority,” he said. “This is an advantage we can never simply leave unused.”
2+The remarks come as Greece pours billions of euros into upgrading its defense systems. Last week, Israel and Greece signed a massive deal worth roughly €3 billion to build the multi-layered “Achilles Shield” air defense system, part of Athens’ military buildup plan.
Mitsotakis also addressed the possibility that Turkey might receive F-35s from the United States in the future, saying there are “significant legal obstacles” currently preventing the deal from going through. Greece doesn’t dictate to Washington who to sell weapons to, he said, but he doesn’t see how those obstacles will be removed.
2+The message comes amid renewed tensions between the two NATO members over Aegean Sea disputes and Greece’s accelerated rearmament. Athens is also preparing for the possibility of further deterioration in relations with Ankara following recent disputes between the countries.