The sale of three frigates (FDI) and six Rafale aircraft to Greece marks a further strengthening of military cooperation between the two countries. French Minister of the Armed Forces Florence Parly is expected to initial these contracts in Athens on Thursday.
Against the backdrop of tensions with neighboring Turkey, Greece decided last year to strengthen its military capacity by ordering 24 Rafale combat planes and three frigates from France, for a total amount of more than 5.5 billion euros. .
In the presence of the CEO of Naval Group, Pierre-Éric Pommellet, the French minister and her Greek counterpart Nikos Panagiotopoulos will first sign the contract for three frigates). These will be built by Naval Group, in Lorient in western France, for delivery to the Greek Navy in 2025 and 2026. A fourth frigate is optional.
The CEO of Dassault Aviation, Éric Trappier, also made the trip to sign a second contract for the delivery of six additional new Rafales. The sale of 18 of these combat aircraft had already been signed last year, seven of which were delivered to Greece.
The signing of these contracts, which alone amount to more than three billion euros, comes as relations seem to be calming down between Greece and Turkey, which have promised to cooperate more in the face of the war in Ukraine. .
Just before National Day in Greece
Greece and France had started to strengthen their military cooperation in the summer of 2020 to counter Turkish attempts to explore for gas in disputed areas of the eastern Mediterranean. Last September, the two countries concluded a “strategic partnership” in Paris, confirming their intention to strengthen European defense.
Ankara has repeatedly criticized the Franco-Greek agreement, saying it threatened “regional peace and stability”.
But due to the war in Ukraine, an “unexpected” summit in Istanbul between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Greek Prime Minister “helped to improve bilateral relations due to the war in Ukraine”, said Christos Rozakis, former vice-president of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Turkey and Greece are both members of the Atlantic Alliance and “NATO does not want tension on its eastern front”, added this expert on Greek-Turkish relations.
These contracts come just before the national holiday in Greece, which on March 25 celebrates the start of the War of Independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1821. Rafales will take off on Friday from Charles-de-Gaulle, off Crete, to participate in the traditional military parade in Athens which Florence Parly will attend for the second time in a row.