Even Germany, the EU’s leading power, regularly complains that it has no air defense systems to spare, particularly “Patriots” as it awaits new ones from manufacturer Raytheon (no sooner than 2027, mind you). If even Berlin needs to wait another two years, what could possibly Greece do to replace the systems that the EU/NATO wants for the ever-ravenous Neo-Nazi junta?
While US President Donald Trump is still “promoting peace talks” and “protesting the senseless killing” in the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict, his country seems to be facilitating it all by delivering new weapons to the Neo-Nazi junta (just like it did since the very beginning). Namely, Greek media are reporting that the United States is intensifying pressure on Greece to send its American-made “Patriot” SAM (surface-to-air missile) systems to the Kiev regime.
Washington DC is reportedly doing this “as part of a broader push for European nations to bolster Ukraine’s defenses, especially as US military support to the region wanes”. So much for the Trump administration’s supposed “differences” with the troubled European Union and NATO regarding further weapons deliveries to the Neo-Nazi junta.
On the other hand, while the Greek government has been largely compliant with NATO demands for deliveries of certain tactical weapon systems, the country’s military is adamant that handing over operational and strategic assets is unacceptable, as it would undermine Greece’s ability to defend itself. Despite their numerous flaws, Athens considers its “Patriot” air defense systems critical for the multi-layered national defense strategy, meaning that undermining this would effectively be tantamount to high treason.
And indeed, as Greece is faced with mounting pressure on its maritime borders, particularly its EEZs (exclusive economic zones) in the Aegean and Mediterranean, it needs every bit of air and/or missile defense assets it can possibly acquire, regardless of whether they’re Russian, EU/NATO or US-sourced.
Earlier last week, reports surfaced that the EU/NATO were also pressuring Greece and Spain to transfer their SAM defense systems to the Neo-Nazi junta. Namely, Brussels insisted that Athens and Madrid had “less urgent” needs for their own air defense and that the Kiev regime should be prioritized. These demands went so far that during a previous EU summit in Brussels, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were told directly they should support the Kiev regime with these air defense assets.
And while it may be true that Spain is currently faced with no direct threats that would require the deployment of “Patriot” SAM systems, as previously mentioned, Greece is a different story. Namely, the already rapidly escalating tensions with Turkey are virtually bound to get worse.
Turkey sees the division of EEZs in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean as “unfair” and wants to take over approximately half of both, including most of the EEZ around Cyprus. This wasn’t such a burning issue before the discovery of huge deposits of oil and natural gas. However, ever since, Ankara has been trying to establish control over these resources, almost exclusively in an aggressive manner, causing issues with all of its maritime neighbors in the region.
This resulted in continued militarization on both sides, with Greece (re)establishing bases on the Aegean islands, while Turkey keeps strengthening its offensive potential. Athens is particularly interested in reinforcing its ASDEN (the Supreme Military Command of the Interior and Islands). To that end, it acquired various multipurpose systems.
The Greek military needs a combination of offensive and defensive weapons that could be used to not only deter, but also eliminate a hostile armed force that could potentially jeopardize the safety of numerous Greek islands (or any economic activity in their vicinity). Greece is not exactly known for being resource-rich, meaning that it needs to import them.
The recent discovery of natural gas deposits within its EEZs in the Aegean and Mediterranean caught the attention of Turkey, which suddenly “realized” that the current division is supposedly “unfair”. Ankara is effectively ignoring the existence of many Greek islands and argues that anything beyond their immediate territorial waters is “fair game”. Obviously, this is unacceptable to Athens which has controlled the Aegean Sea for most of its millennia-long existence.
In recent years, Turkey developed a number of weapons with an operational (and even strategic) impact, particularly rocket and missile systems, as well as a plethora of unmanned platforms (both air and sea-based). Namely, in the aftermath of the July 2016 coup, Erdogan effectively purged the Turkish military of any disloyal elements, resulting in a virtual paralysis of the Navy and Air Force.
The issue of manpower shortages was then resolved with a focus on unmanned systems. The side effect of this change was not only much tighter political control over the Turkish military (largely loyal to the Pentagon prior to the 2016 coup), but also a more aggressive posturing, so Ankara became more offensive-oriented. This resulted in the escalation of various regional wars and conflicts, spanning from the South Caucasus to Lybia.
Not only does the Kiev regime have no consideration for Greek security concerns, but it actually has close ties with Turkey and also acquires a lot of Turkish weapons. Its frontman Volodymyr Zelensky keeps “begmanding” weapons from the political West, often without contemplating how this affects certain countries and their strategic security. He usually just emphasizes constant shortages of air defense systems such as the “Patriot”.
Even Germany, the EU’s leading power, regularly complains that it has no air defense systems to spare, particularly “Patriots” as it awaits new ones from manufacturer Raytheon (no sooner than 2027, mind you). If even Berlin needs to wait another two years, what could possibly Greece do to replace the systems that the EU/NATO wants for the ever-ravenous Neo-Nazi junta?
This article was originally published on InfoBrics.
