French President Emmanuel Macron has dismissed Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s request to block the sale of Meteor missiles to Turkey, according to Greek media reports.
Macron reportedly made clear to Mitsotakis during their meeting at the Paris AI Summit this week that preventing the sale of the Meteor air-to-air missiles was not feasible. The deal, he explained, involves the six-country European consortium MBDA, comprising the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, meaning it’s beyond France’s control, according to the Greek Efimerida ton Syntakton (EFSYN) daily.
Athens is reportedly planning to reach out to other members of the consortium in an attempt to block the missile sale to Ankara.
Turkey is negotiating the acquisition of up to 40 EF-2000 Eurofighter jets to strengthen its air force in response to growing regional threats. The Meteor missiles are said to be part of the proposed Eurofighter deal.
According to MBDA’s website, the Meteor missile features a ramjet motor system that provides continuous thrust until target intercept, creating what the company calls “the largest No Escape Zone of any air-to-air missile system.”
The beyond-visual-range missile can reach speeds exceeding Mach 4 and has a range of more than 100 kilometers. Its advanced capabilities make it particularly effective against high-value targets like refueling tankers and early warning aircraft operating behind front lines.
Turkey plans to integrate these missiles into its proposed fleet of Eurofighter Typhoons while simultaneously developing Gökhan, a domestic alternative to the Meteor system.
According to the French La Tribune newspaper, Ankara has made its planned acquisition of the Eurofighter Typhoons subject to the condition that they be equipped with Meteor missiles.
Greece, which has recently increased its military procurements through programs like the F-16 fleet modernization and the purchase of French-made Rafale jets equipped with Meteor missiles, strongly opposes the sale to Turkey.
On January 29 Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias invited the French ambassador and military attaché in Athens to formally express Greece’s opposition to the deal.
On February 4 Mitsotakis again sought clarification from Macron regarding the missile negotiations during a meeting on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.
Additionally, Turkish sources reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Macron discussed bilateral relations and other matters during a phone call on Friday.