Athens, Berlin discuss supplying BMP-1 combat vehicles to Ukraine

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Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos and his German counterpart, Christine Lambrecht, discussed via phone call the progress in Greek deliveries of BMP-1 armored infantry vehicles to Ukraine, and the vehicles getting replaced with the German Marder infantry fighting vehicles, the Greek Defense Ministry said Monday.

"Issues related to the implementation of the agreement on the supply of the BMP-1 armored infantry vehicles to Ukraine by our country along with their replacement with German-made Marder armored infantry vehicles were also discussed," the ministry said in a statement.

The call also saw the two counterparts discussing bilateral defense cooperation and the latest developments in Ukraine, Athens added.

Athens and Berlin agreed that Athens would receive an equal number of the Marder IFVs instead of the East-Germany-made BMP-1 IFVs sent to Ukraine, which Greece had received back in 1994.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in June that Germany would send infantry fighting vehicles to Greece so that the Greek government can transfer Soviet-style weapons to Ukraine.

After a two-day EU summit in Brussels, Scholz told reporters that "We will provide Greece with German infantry fighting vehicles".

Scholz did not specify what type of infantry fighting vehicles Berlin will provide to Greece or what weapons Athens will provide to Kiev.

However, a defense source at the time said that Berlin intended to deliver to Greece 100 old Marder IFVs owned by Rheinmetall.

Greece received 10 Marders out of the 40 it sent Ukraine as of November. During a visit by Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias to Kiev in October 2022, his Ukrainian counterpart said Greece had begun transferring BMP-1s to Ukraine.

Panagiotopoulos stated in December that his country was willing to send S-300 air defense systems from the island of Crete to Ukraine if the US "installs the Patriot system in their place."

Crimea's Permanent Representative to Russian President Georgiy Muradov described Athens' intention to transfer S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine as a "risky step" for Greek national interests.

"Such a move by Athens would be not only a senseless demonstration of hostility towards Russia, but also a risky step towards its own national interests, which the Greek public is already loudly declaring," Muradov told Russian news agency Sputnik.

The chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, General Konstantinos Floros, said Greece is not considering the transfer of Russian S-300 air defense systems to Ukraine.

"Obviously, we do not consider either relocation or transfer of weapons, it would weaken the country's defense capabilities," Floros told reporters.