Greek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos said his country would send S-300 missile systems to Ukraine if the United States sent Patriot missile defense systems and retiring Tikonderoga-class cruisers in return.
The Minister also noted that Athens is ready to send to Kyiv not only the S-300, but also the Tor-M1 and Osa-AKM complexes.
Earlier, the head of the Greek Ministry of Defense, Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, at a meeting of a group of Western states on aid to Kyiv, said that the Greek authorities are not going to stop military support to Ukraine. According to him, Athens will continue to provide the Ukrainian side with appropriate assistance.
As noted in the Greek Ministry of Defense, during the meeting, the parties discussed the situation around Ukraine and Kiev’s needs in the defense sector. The Greek Ministry of Defense also added that it was about training Ukrainian soldiers.
All are decisions that will be implemented or have already entered the path of implementation. Specifically for the S-300, the Ministry of Defense said:
“If the US installs a Patriot system on the island and after it is integrated – interconnected with the national air defense system, the S-300s can be removed. The same process applies to any other Russian-sourced air defense system they might want to send to Ukraine.”
Therefore, the Greek government is ready to send to Ukraine not only the S-300 but also the Tor-M1 as well as the OSA-AKM.
The Greek government has made a clear strategic decision to side with the US, more than simply aligning itself with EU policies, and is expected to continue on the same path during the war. This means it is ready to send more weapons to Ukraine in close coordination with the US.
