Mitsotakis defends Patriot interception in Saudi Arabia as ‘strictly defensive’

After a Greek-operated Patriot rocket defence system deployed successful Saudi Arabia intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched from Iran, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described the enactment arsenic “strictly defensive” and portion of an ongoing bilateral agreement.

Speaking aft a summit of European Union leaders successful Brussels precocious Thursday, Mitsotakis said the Greek Patriot artillery has been stationed successful Saudi Arabia since 2021, pursuing a determination by Greece’s nationalist information council, KYSEA. The deployment, helium said, is portion of a broader effort to support captious infrastructure linked to planetary substance supply security.

“Today’s interception was a strictly antiaircraft enactment within the model of this statement we person with Saudi Arabia,” Mitsotakis told journalists, referring to the kingdom arsenic a long-standing strategic spouse of Greece. He added that the cognition demonstrated the readiness of the Greek equipped forces under analyzable conditions.

Addressing questions astir the benefits of the ngo for Greece, Mitsotakis said protecting cardinal vigor infrastructure has nonstop planetary implications. “If this refinery – a captious Saudi installation – had been struck, lipid prices today would beryllium importantly higher,” helium said, emphasizing that safeguarding vital vigor assets should beryllium a top priority.

Opposition parties successful Greece criticized the determination arsenic contradicting the government’s communicative of non-involvement successful the ongoing Middle East conflict.

Turkish complaints

Mitsotakis besides dismissed reports successful Turkish media claiming that Ankara had sent letters to NATO, the European Union and the United States protesting the relocation of a Greek Patriot system to the Aegean land of Karpathos, which Athens says is intended to antagonistic the hazard of Iranian retaliation pursuing US and Israeli strikes connected Iran.

“These claims are legally unfounded and wholly ill-timed fixed the broader geopolitical context,” helium said. “Greece does not negociate with anyone implicit the operational deployment of its defence forces,” helium added.