The bilateral relations Greece and UK and the possibility of deepening defense cooperation will be at the center of the Minister of National Defense next Tuesday. Nikos Dendia with his British counterpart John Hill in London. Mr Dendia’s transition takes place in the wake of the discussion of Ankara’s negotiations with the two joint ventures built by aircraft Eurofighter and air rockets Meteor.

According to ‘Everyday“, Mr. Dendia’s visit is also held in the wake of his French counterpart’s recent statements Sebastianwho at a recent hearing in the French National Assembly noted that the issue “does not concern France”, as his country “does not have the supervision of British weapons exports”, although he admitted that Athens has reasonable concerns about the possible sale of Meteor in Turkey. He added that “France Meteor does not sell in Turkey, but this will be a” package “if the purchase of up to 40 Eurofighter from Ankara proceed. The French defense minister, however, said that the issue would continue to be treated through diplomacy and discuss it when he met with Mr Dendia in Athens.

Minority package

As is well known, France has a minority package in the production of Meteor, the multinational consortium, who can arm aircraft such as Rafale and Eurofighter, and if the F-35s are certified (the United Kingdom has already done so for its own and Greece is followed by the same design). The Meteor case came to the end of last month by Mr Dendia himself and has already been discussed twice among Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and French President Emmanuel Macron. And this is a case that has caused friction between Athens and Paris that, for the rest, maintain a relationship of good cooperation.

In his contacts in London, Mr Dendias will attempt primarily to re -review relations with the United Kingdom in the field of defense, which in recent years have been rather limited. In discussions between Athens and London there are issues related to equipment, such as upgrading Super Vita rockets or upgrading valuable Commander radar (both from BAE Systems), as well as some other regional programs.

Most importantly, however, the United Kingdom represents one of the few European forces that – along with France – perceive the value of strengthening the effort to stronger armed forces and strategic autonomy. It is no coincidence that London, despite the fact that the United Kingdom is out of the EU, is actively involved in all discussions to strengthen European security, especially after the US US government’s shift in Ukrainian, Ukrainian, And not only.