Greece has warned Turkey that it may block Turkish access to a European Union defense fund unless Ankara guarantees that the weapons will not be used to target Athens.
There are historic tensions between EU member Greece and neighboring Turkey over sovereignty rights in the Aegean Sea and, more recently, over energy exploration and migration.
Turkey, which is a member of NATO but not the EU, is technically eligible to access EU defense industry financing and joint procurement programs as part of the bloc’s 150-billion-euro ($176-billion) Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative.
But Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said late on Wednesday that his country would not allow Turkey to take part in the defense scheme if it continued to threaten war against Greece and question its sovereignty in the Aegean Sea.
“Greece will not allow it,” the conservative leader told Skai TV.
Turkey has maintained a longstanding threat of war should Greece unilaterally expand its territorial waters in the Aegean.
Mitsotakis pointed out that all 27 EU members would have to agree before Turkey could access SAFE funds.
“Unanimity is required,” he said.
His comments came hours after Germany said it had approved the delivery of Eurofighter jets to Turkey.
Turkey had been in talks for several years on buying 40 of the aircraft, which are produced by a consortium from Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.
Conditions
The Typhoon jets are to be built in Britain, and London is leading the negotiations.
All members of the consortium must sign off on the sale, and Germany, which has clashed with Turkey over Israel’s war on Gaza, had objected until now.
After Germany gave the green light to the sale, the Turkish and British defense ministers signed a preliminary agreement in Istanbul on Wednesday for the delivery of the jets.
Mitsotakis said that while Greece could, if deemed necessary, block Turkey from accessing SAFE funds, it could not actually prevent the Eurofighter deal.
It could, however, set conditions.
“Turkey is a large country with a strong defense industry,” he said.
“And if someone believes they can block any purchase of defense equipment by Turkey, they are quite ignorant. It has never happened. It cannot happen.
“What can happen, however, is that we make our European allies aware that there will be contingencies and conditions regarding the way these aircraft will be delivered, potentially used and supported in the future,” he said.
The EU has launched a series of initiatives aimed at raising up to 800 billion euros to help member countries bolster their defenses.
SAFE is a 150-billion-euro financing package designed to strengthen European defense capabilities and reduce dependence on NATO and the United States.
The scheme offers low-interest loans for procurement and can include third countries with whom the EU has a security and defense partnership, such as Turkey.
© Agence France-Presse