Greece orders €4 billion worth of arms from Germany

Greece is preparing to conclude an agreement worth 4 billion euros with Germany for the modernization of tanks and 4 frigates.

The new address of the arms rage of the Greek government, rage that began after the crisis with Turkey in 2020, in the Eastern Mediterranean, is, after France and the USA, Germany, reports Rador. In Athens, the presentation of the armament program or a part of this program worth 4 billion euros is expected during the visit that the Chancellor of Germany, Olaf Scholz, will make to Greece on October 27. According to the Greek press, the armament program includes:

– purchase of 205 new Lynx KF-41 armored fighting vehicles. These vehicles will be produced in the factory to be built in Northern Greece.

– the modernization of 190 Leopard 1 tanks

– the modernization of 183 Leopard 2 tanks

– the modernization of 4 MEKO type frigates

According to calculations, the modernization of 337 Leopard tanks will cost 2 billion euros, the purchase of 205 armored combat vehicles will cost 1.4 billion, and the modernization of 4 frigates will cost 600 million euros.

After the 2020 crisis, Athens implemented its armaments program. So he ordered 24 Rafale fighter jets worth 3.3 billion euros, and 3 Belharra type frigates, worth 3 billion euros.

Greece also wants 20 F35s from the US

Discussions regarding Greece’s purchase of 20 F-35 aircraft from the US continue. In May, during the visit of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Washington, the American administration “gave the green light” for this purchase, and the Greek Air Force sent the “letter of intent” and thus began the process of purchasing F-35 aircraft. If an agreement is reached, the costs of this acquisition will amount to almost 3 billion euros, and the handover will take place in 2028.

Greece-Turkey tensions over maritime borders

The tensions between Greece and Turkey are older and have already unfolded over several episodes: most recently, Greece and Turkey, in dispute over their maritime borders, accuse each other of mistreating migrants, mostly Afghans and Syrians , which is trying to reach the European Union.

Frontex was accused earlier this year of trying to cover up the rejection of migrants in the Aegean Sea by the Greek navy – so-called push-backs, prohibited by international law – suspicions that led to the resignation of its director at the end of April of the Fabrice Leggeri agency.

As for him, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on Sunday condemned “cruel and degrading treatments” such as those to which the 92 refugees were subjected and called for a “full investigation into this incident”.

“We invite Greece to give up as quickly as possible its inhumane attitude towards refugees, to put an end to the false and unfounded accusations against Turkey”, said the communication director of the Turkish presidency, Fahrettin Altun.

In a series of four virulent messages on Twitter in Turkish, Greek and English, he accuses Greece of “starting the fake news machine to cast suspicion on Turkey” and the Greek Minister of Immigration of “confounding the actions of Greece and those of Turkey”.

The Turkish presidency vehemently rejected on Sunday any responsibility regarding the fate of the 92 refugees found naked on the Greek side of the border and urged Greece to “end the baseless accusations”, reports AFP.

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