Optimism in Athens over F-35 purchase

Athens is optimistic that concrete steps will be taken in February, at the latest, regarding Greece’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets from the United States. 

More specifically, a letter of acceptance by the US government of the Greek request is expected in the coming weeks, while the procedures will be set in motion to forward the agreement to US Congress.

“All the programming on defense and arms agreements is proceeding normally,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said on Monday.

Following the visit to Greece by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his meeting with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Saturday, Athens believes that not only was the excellent level of relations between the two countries confirmed, but also that Greece’s role as a reliable ally and a factor of stability in a region that is at the heart of multidimensional crises was upgraded.

Amid this volatile landscape, government sources note how significant Washington’s recognition of Greece’s role in the region is. This, they add, also has a bearing on the parallel recognition of the importance of upgrading defense cooperation between the two countries.

The sale of the F-35s to Greece has to some extent been linked to to a corresponding agreement for the sale of new F-16s to Turkey and the upgrade of those it already has. However, at the current juncture, there is talk of steps that will proceed regardless of other developments.

Comments made to state broadcaster ERT by the director of the prime minister’s press office, Dimitris Tsiodras, were telling regarding recent developments on the issue.

“In 2019 Turkey was in the F-35 program and we were trying to upgrade the F-16s; today we are close to entering the F-35 program, which Turkey is not, as it is trying to acquire F-16s. So let’s take a look at what we have achieved over the years, which in no way is self-evident,” he said.