By Ahmet Gencturk
ATHENS (AA) – Greece on Monday again questioned the possible sale of Meteor air-to-air missiles to Türkiye by a European consortium including France, according to Greek media.
Speaking on the sidelines of an AI summit in Paris, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed their convergence on issues of the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as their common approach regarding the latest developments in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Syria, public broadcaster ERT said.
During the meeting, which lasted around an hour, the leaders also discussed strengthening strategic cooperation, with Mitsotakis raising with the French president for the second time in a few days the issue of a possible sale of Meteor missiles to Türkiye, it added.
Türkiye is already engaged with negotiations to buy up to 40 EF-2000 Eurofighter jets to keep its air force updated in the face of multiplying regional threats.
Air-to-air Meteor missiles are reportedly included in the package linked with Eurofighter jets Türkiye is negotiating for.
Greece, which stepped up its arms purchase in recent years, including modernization of its F-16 fleet and the purchase of French-made Rafale jets, with Meteor missiles, opposes any sale of the missiles of Türkiye.
On Jan. 29, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announced that he had summoned French ambassador and military attache in Athens to underline the country’s strong opposition to sale.
On Feb. 4, according to the Greek media, Mitsotakis requested details from Macron on the negotiations for the sale of missiles to Türkiye when they met on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.
On Friday, Turkish sources said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a phone call with Macron and discussed improving bilateral relations and cooperation, among other topics.