Greek government denies reports of Patriot air defence systems transfer to Ukraine

Spokesman for the Greek government Pavlos Marinakis has denied reports claiming that Greece intends to transfer Patriot and S-300 missile defence systems to Ukraine.

Marinakis made these remarks during a briefing, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

"I categorically deny this," he said in response to a question about whether Greece plans to transfer the Patriot and S-300 systems to Ukraine. "From time to time, we see such false news being spread. This is a big lie."

Earlier, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis had repeatedly stated that Greece has no intention of sending American-made Patriot missile defence systems or Soviet-era S-300 systems to Ukraine.

In late November, the Greek www.enikos.gr website reported that Greece is preparing to transfer S-300 systems and two other Russian-made weapon systems, which were previously used for the country’s air defence, to Armenia, replacing them with Israeli-made systems. According to the website, the Hellenic National Defense General Staff is at an advanced stage in providing Armenia with Russian-made weapon systems.

The report also noted that it was initially believed that these systems might be sent to Ukraine, but the General Staff is now considering other, equally beneficial alternatives. The weapon systems potentially being transferred to Armenia are mainly air defence systems, including the S-300, as well as surface-to-air missile systems such as the TOR-M1 and Osa-AKM, which are currently in service with the Greek Army and Air Force. 

On November 27, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova addressed reports from Greek media stating that Athens is preparing to transfer S-300 systems to Yerevan. She emphasised that Russia has not received any requests from the Greek authorities for re-exporting Russian military products to other countries. 

Zakharova reminded of the need to adhere to the provisions of bilateral intergovernmental agreements on military-technical cooperation, signed on October 30, 1995, and on the supply of military goods, dated December 3, 2013. These agreements clearly prohibit Greece from re-exporting any supplied military equipment without Russia's consent.

By Naila Huseynova