Athens is resisting calls from NATO allies to provide substantial military aid to Ukraine by reselling its Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to intermediaries, reports indicate.
The pressure comes primarily from the United States and France, as well as Eastern European countries closer to the war.
Greece operates 25 Mirage 2000-5 fighters and faces a 2027 deadline when technical support for the aircraft will cease. The country has already purchased 24 more advanced Rafale fighters from France and is negotiating to acquire another 6-12 Rafales, seeking a lower price in exchange for offloading some of the older Mirages.
Under the proposed arrangement, Greece would sell the Mirage 2000-5s to intermediaries including the United States, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Estonia. These countries would then resell the aircraft to Ukraine or provide other aircraft in exchange. Estonia has expressed particular interest in purchasing some of the fighters.
Greece's reluctance centers on its unwillingness to provide high-tech systems for use against Russia. The country prefers contributing antiquated weapons systems, including 60 self-propelled 203 mm M-110 howitzers that have been in the Army's arsenal since the 1960s.
The United States is pushing Greece to participate in the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative and acquire more American weapons systems. Baltic and Scandinavian countries have been the main participants in this program so far.
Greece's efforts to sell the Mirage fighters have encountered obstacles. Discussions with India to purchase the aircraft reached an impasse, and other Balkan countries showed no interest.
Beyond the fighter jets, Greece faces pressure to allow Türkiye's participation in the EU's €150 billion SAFE program of loans for military procurements. Athens opposes this while Ankara continues to dispute Greek sovereignty over parts of the Aegean Sea. Greece characterizes Türkiye's potential inclusion as mainly symbolic, given that Ankara maintains bilateral cooperation agreements with many EU members.
At the ongoing 7th Summit of the 47-member European Political Community on Tuesday, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said "military protection should be provided beyond NATO's eastern flank."
