ISTANBUL/ CHANIA, Greece: Washington's top diplomat Antony Blinken arrived on the island of Crete on Saturday (Jan 6) to meet with the Greek prime minister and address Greece's concerns about the looming sale of US fighter jets to Ankara, after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Türkiye.
Athens has fiercely contested the US jet sales because of longstanding territorial disputes with Türkiye in the energy-rich eastern Mediterranean region.
Greece is seeking to purchase a batch of more advanced F-35 jets from the United States to counter the perceived Turkish threat.
Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said in an interview with Skai TV on Saturday that it was only a matter of time before Greece joined the F-35 programme, saying that Greek-US relations "have reached their peak".
He said the talks between Blinken and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at his family home in Chania would focus on two issues: international developments regarding war in Gaza and Ukraine, and bilateral relations, especially on energy and defence cooperation issues, including the supply of F-35s.
"Greece in the last five years has followed a policy of strengthening its armed forces. The country is gaining a special weight, the upgrading of the armed forces is an important issue," Gerapetritis said.
"For us, it is completely irrelevant what Türkiye does in relation to the United States," he added.
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2024-01-06 12:46:04Z
CBMiV2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmNoYW5uZWxuZXdzYXNpYS5jb20vd29ybGQvYmxpbmtlbi1nYXphLW5hdG8tZ3Jvd3RoLXR1cmtpeWVzLWVyZG9nYW4tNDAyOTI3NtIBAA
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