Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis failed to block Meteor missile sale to Türkiye after Macron’s rejection

Greek media outlets reported that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis held a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris at the beginning of the week, aiming to block the sale of Meteor missiles to Türkiye. Despite Mitsotakis’ appeal, Macron firmly denied the request.

France says blocking the sale is impossible
According to a report published by the Athens-based newspaper EFSYN under the headline 'French Meteorite', Macron made it clear that there is no possibility of blocking the sale of Meteor missiles. The French side explained that these missiles are produced by a consortium of six countries, and international agreements make it practically impossible to halt the sale to Türkiye.

Greece plans to appeal to other consortium members
Citing anonymous sources, the report also claimed that Greece is planning to reach out to the governments of the other countries involved in the consortium to prevent the sale.

Defense Minister raised concerns with French Ambassador
On January 29, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias met with the French Ambassador to Athens, Laurence Auer, expressing Greece’s discomfort over reports regarding the potential sale of Meteor missiles to Türkiye.

Meteor missiles and the international consortium
The Meteor missile, manufactured by France-based MBDA, is classified as a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. In addition to France, the consortium producing the missile includes the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden.