A conflict is brewing between Ukraine and Greece over maritime drones — Kathimerini
Kyiv insists on having a say in the use of maritime drones that it plans to produce jointly with Greece, but Athens does not support this condition.
This was reported by Kathimerini, citing sources.
According to journalists, the condition set by Kyiv effectively means that in the event of a military conflict, it would be able to prohibit the use of naval drones. Athens, however, has officially informed Kyiv that it cannot agree to the deployment of weapons whose use is restricted by certain conditions.
Ukraine has not explained the reason for its position, but, as Kathimerini writes, it is clearly linked to its desire to preserve relations with Turkey.
Greece and Turkey have a long history of conflict, but the main point of contention remains the issue of Cyprus—an island where Greeks have lived for centuries, as well as Turks, who began to be resettled there in the 16th century following the Ottoman Empire’s conquest of Cyprus.
In 1974, following a coup aimed at annexing the island to Greece, Turkey sent troops to the island and seized its northern part.
There, the so-called Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was established—a self-proclaimed state recognized by no other country in the world except Turkey. Since then, Cyprus has remained divided into two parts by a buffer zone running through the capital, Nicosia, and controlled by UN troops.
Despite the contentious issue of control over the use of drones, this does not mean that the joint Ukrainian-Greek production program is doomed to failure, writes Kathimerini. Greek military officers, it is said, were in Kyiv, where they discussed technical issues related to this in detail.
Earlier, Zelenskyy reached an agreement on maritime drones and the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
As a reminder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that during his visit to the Middle East, he reached an agreement on the supply of diesel fuel to Ukraine for at least one year.
Zelenskyy also signed an agreement with Qatar on missile defense.
