Ukraine has asked Greece for air defense systems but faced refusal: Prime Minister Mitsotakis comments on the situation

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis confirmed that Ukraine had asked the country to transfer Patriot and S-300 air defense systems. However, Athens will not be able to transfer these air defense systems to Kyiv as they are "critical" for the protection of Greek airspace.

The Prime Minister clarified that, despite the request, Greece is not going to supply Ukraine with either S-300 or Patriot. This was reported by Iefimerida.

"The air defense systems you mentioned are critical systems for the protection of Greek airspace and will not be transferred to Ukraine," Mitsotakis said.

The Prime Minister noted that Greece "has supported Ukraine in various ways, including with defense materials." However, from the very beginning, the country stated that it could not be left without weapons, which are "crucial for its own defense potential."

"We have surplus equipment that we can support Ukraine with, we have done so, and I believe that this is the right choice. And if we are able to find such equipment, we will continue to do so," the Greek Prime Minister added.

The FT reported the day before that the EU and NATO are pressuring Greece and Spain to transfer air defense systems to Ukraine. Although both countries have more than a dozen Patriot systems, among other systems, both Madrid and Athens do not need that many of them.

Greek media reported that the country is considering the transfer of Patriot systems to Kyiv but only if it receives US "guarantees" about the threat from Turkey and a financial compensation package.

As reported, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the allies have made specific commitments to supply more air defense systems to Kyiv. According to him, NATO is negotiating on this issue with "some specific countries."

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