France delivers first batch of Rafale fighter jets to Greece
2 Min Read
Some three months after signing the deal with France, Greece received six French Rafale jets, displaying them by flying them near Athens ahead of their landing in the Tangra airbase.
-
The French Dassault Rafale fighter jet
Greece has received its first batch of French Rafale fighter jets purchased under a defense deal between Paris and Athens, which caused tensions to soar between the latter and Ankara, with Turkey warning that it harms NATO.
Greece has received six Dassault Rafale out of the 24 it had ordered after Athens paid more than 3 billion euros in a bid to update its armed forces as tensions rise with Turkey over energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean, territorial disputes, the Greek-Turkish divide in Cyprus, and illegal migration.
"The new Rafale jets which landed today are ready to take off for a better, more peaceful future for the whole region," Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.
According to Misotakis, the deal with Rafale, made after a decade-long financial crisis in Greece, was "contributing to Europe's strategy for autonomy."
The Greek parliament ratified a defense agreement with France in October, as per which Athens would receive three French Belharra frigates, in addition to six Rafale jet fighters out of a total of 24.
Despite the Turkish concerns, France assured that the deal was not aimed at any third country and affirmed that Greek must be protected considering that it is "guarding the EU's southeastern flank."
"We obviously don't need anyone's permission for their acquisition," Mitsotakis said regarding the Rafale jets and the frigates. "With the same determination that our country shuts the door to every threat, it keeps the windows open for dialogue."
