Greece could give up S-300 AA systems in exchange for Patriot
S-300 (Photo:Ivan Piyanin/www.flickr.com)
Greece is prepared to transfer its Soviet-era S-300 anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine – in exchange for the United States stationing Patriot air defense in Crete, Greek news outlet pronews.gr reported on Dec. 16, citing Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos.
“We are talking about deployment, not purchase, which means the Patriot system will be under the control of U.S. military,” the message says.
During a public event, the minister was asked about the role of the S-300 systems in Crete and in the Greek air defense, to which he answered:
“If the United States deploys Patriot on the island, then after its integration with the national air defense system, the S-300 (systems) can be removed,” he said.
“The same process applies to any other Russian-made air defense system they may want to send to Ukraine.”
The report says that Greece could also send Tor-M1 and Osa-AKM to Ukraine, should adequate U.S.-made replacements be made available to Athens.
CNN earlier reported that the United States is finalizing a plan to supply at least one Patriot battery to Ukraine, which could be announced later this week.
An unnamed U.S. Department of Defense later confirmed these reports.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
