Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced a massive arms purchase program of Greece and an overhaul of the country’s military on Saturday after the increased tension with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean. He said that Greece had acquired 18 French-made Rafale warplanes, four multi-purpose frigates, and four navy helicopters, and recruiting 15,000 new troops and pouring resources into the national arms industry cyber-attack defense.
Greece and Turkey have bitter and complex relations over hydrocarbon resources and naval influence in their waters. Greece prime minister said, “The time has come to reinforce the armed forces… these initiatives constitute a major program that will become a national shield”.
In August, Turkey sent an exploration ship and a small navy flotilla to conduct seismic research in waters that Greece considers it is own under postwar treaties. After that, the tension increased between both NATO allies, and now France is strongly backing Greece against Turkey.
The Defence Minister of Greece, Florence Parly, welcomed the new arms deal, he said: “it was the first time a European country ( Greece) had bought the Rafale warplanes.” EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell has said that unless Turkey can be engaged in talks and negotiations, the bloc could develop a list of sanctions that Turkey may face at a European summit on September 24 and 25.
