Following the Russia-Ukraine War that started on February 24, 2022, Greece was one of the countries where Russia’s relations deteriorated the most. The Athens administration reacted extremely harshly to Moscow’s intervention against Kyiv. After all, Russia has declared Greece as a non-friendly country. The Athens administration reacted extremely strongly to Moscow’s intervention in Kyiv. After all, Russia has declared Greece an unfriendly country.
Considering the historical, religious, and cultural relations of the two countries, this can be characterized as another big loss for Moscow in European geopolitics. Greece is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and has become one of the few states that continues to purchase weapons from Moscow. In this sense, Athens has followed a policy that tries to carry out a policy of balance with Moscow in the alliance. However, the war led to the end of this policy of Athens.
In addition to all these, Greece has attracted attention as one of the most dependent countries on Russia for natural gas among the European Union (EU) members. This played an important role in shaping Athens’ policy towards Moscow throughout the war. Since Greece knows that this dependence creates its own weak spot, it is currently pursuing a policy that defines itself as a transit point for energy and is trying to implement various energy projects. An example of this is the Greece-Bulgaria Natural Gas Interconnection, which became operational in October 2022 and provides the transfer of Azerbaijani natural gas.
On the other hand, Greece was one of the countries that provided arms to Ukraine during the war. Accordingly, on 16 September 2022, Berlin and Athens agreed to facilitate the shipment of armored vehicles to Ukraine following a meeting between Greek Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht. Under the agreement, Greece agreed to send 40 Soviet BMP-1 tanks to Ukraine, and in return, it will receive as many Marder-type tanks from Germany.[1]
On the other hand, this aid has caused controversy in Greek domestic politics. The coalition of the Radical Left (SYRIZA), the country’s main opposition, criticized Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the agreement. SYRIZA deputies have drawn attention to the fact that the agreement may threaten the country’s security. In response, on October 14, 2022, Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos stated that the agreement with Berlin would not create any shortcomings in Athens’ security.[2]
As can be seen, in Greece, the government and the main opposition are positioned on different points regarding arms aid to Ukraine. While SYRIZA advocates the implementation of a more moderate policy, the New Democracy Party (ND), led by Mitsotakis, pursues the opposite policy.
When the agreement is examined, it is clear that Athens’ military aid to Kyiv is not “unconditional” aid. Greece has agreed to provide military aid to Ukraine only on the condition that it receives the counterparts of the weapons it will provide from Germany. Moreover, the arms aid provided by Greece to Ukraine is the kind of weapon that the Greek Army wants to dispose of in a sense. As can be seen from the BMP-1 tanks, Greece will remove quite outdated heavy weapons from its inventory and purchase higher-quality tanks from Germany. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that the agreement is in favor of Greece.
On the other hand, Athens’ arms aid to Kyiv has been on the agenda for the second time on the occasion of the S-300 Air Defense System. In this context, on 17 December 2022, the following words of Panagiotopoulos were reflected in the Greek media:[3]
“If the United States (US) installs a Patriot system on Crete and, after being integrated, connects it to the air defense system, then the S300s can be removed. The same procedure applies to other Russian-made air defense systems that they may want to send to Ukraine.”
In this context, as can be understood from the statements of the Greek Defense Minister, Athens wants to use the S300s as an element of bargaining with Washington. Therefore, Greece has raised this issue in the name of its own security rather than Ukraine’s security.
Moreover, Russia’s recent increase in airstrikes against Ukraine has further strengthened the idea of sending air defense systems to Kyiv in the West. Ukraine needs systems manufactured with Russian technology as much as it needs the West’s defense systems. Greece is trying to put itself at the forefront because it hosts old Russian air defense systems. Therefore, it seems that Athens wants to take advantage of this situation on its own behalf.
In this context, Greece wants to implement a model similar to the one it applied to Germany with the US. In this context, Greece wants to implement a similar model to the one it has implemented with Germany with the US. As in the agreement with Berlin, Athens is trying to bring the exchange model to the agenda at the point of the agreement it wants to realize with Washington. However, the chances of Greece sending the S-300s to Ukraine without receiving the Patriot are extremely slim. Greece has not yet gratuitously provided arms assistance to Ukraine.
On the other hand, the Greek Defense Minister stated that Athens had not received an official offer from Washington on the Patriots on December 21, 2022. In addition, Panagiotopoulos stated that sending the S-300s to Kyiv is not a simple matter at all and that they have no intention of weakening their own security.[4] At this point, it can be argued that Athens’ policy is based on a wait-and-see approach. Moreover, the S-300s are already being actively used by Greece. Therefore, the system has an extremely important place in Athens’ security policy. In this regard, it is predictable that Greece expects to receive an offer or assurance from the US.
On the other hand, Greece’s bringing up the S-300 issue has led to Russia’s harsh reaction. On December 28, 2022, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow was assessing Athens’ intentions regarding the S-300. Lavrov said that under the agreement between the two countries, Greece does not have the right to transfer these systems without Russia’s consent. The Russian Foreign Minister stated that they had conveyed this issue to Athens and that the Greek authorities had told Moscow that they were paying attention to their own commitments.[5] As is clear, Moscow will not remain silent about a possible scenario in which Athens will send S-300 to Kyiv. It can be argued that Greece is testing the waters by measuring the reactions of the US and Russia on this issue.
In conclusion, the war led to the lowest level of relations between Moscow and Athens in history. In addition to supporting Ukraine on a rhetorical basis, Greece has also supported it through heavy weapons. Despite all this, Athens pursued a policy that met its own security needs throughout the war in Ukraine. The example of Germany is one of the most concrete proofs of this. In addition, the introduction of the S-300s in exchange for the Patriots is also very important in terms of revealing Athens’ policy.
[1] “Greece to Send 40 of Its Soviet Tanks to Support Ukraine, Greek City Times, https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/09/17/greece-soviet-tanks-ukraine/, (Date of Accession: 30.12.2022).
[2] “Defense Minister Rejects Shipment of Military Vehicles to Ukraine Creates Gap in Greece’s Security”, Ekathimerini, https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1195688/def-minister-rejects-shipment-of-military-vehicles-to-ukraine-creates-gap-in-greeces-security/, (Date of Accession: 30.12.2022).
[3] “Greece is Ready to Transfer S-300 to Ukraine if the US deploys Patriot Air Defense Systems in Crete”, Greek City Times, https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/12/17/greece-is-ready-to-transfer-s-300-to-ukraine-if-the-us-deploys-patriot-air-defense-systems-in-crete/, (Date of Accession: 30.12.2022).
[4] “Greece did not Receive Formal Proposal from US on Swap of S-300 with Patriot: Defense Chief”, AA, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/greece-did-not-receive-formal-proposal-from-us-on-swap-of-s-300-with-patriot-defense-chief/2770759, (Date of Accession: 30.12.2022).
[5] “Greece can’t Supply S-300 Systems Without Russia’s Approval: Lavrov”, TRT World, https://www.trtworld.com/europe/greece-can-t-supply-s-300-systems-without-russia-s-approval-lavrov-63987, (Date of Accession: 30.12.2022).
