French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s appeal to block the sale of Meteor air-to-air missiles to Turkey, according to reports from Greek media.
During their meeting at the Paris AI Summit this week, Macron reportedly told Mitsotakis that preventing the sale was not feasible. He explained that the deal involves MBDA, a six-nation European defense consortium consisting of the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and Sweden, making it beyond France’s unilateral control, according to the Greek daily Efimerida ton Syntakton (EFSYN).
In response, Athens is reportedly planning to lobby other consortium members in an effort to halt the missile sale to Ankara.
Turkey is in negotiations to acquire up to 40 EF-2000 Eurofighter jets to bolster its air force amid rising regional threats. The Meteor missiles are expected to be included in this potential deal.
According to MBDA’s website, the Meteor missile is powered by a ramjet motor system, allowing continuous thrust until intercept and creating what the company describes as “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 over 100 kilometers, making it particularly effective against high-value targets such as refueling tankers and early warning aircraft.
Turkey plans to integrate these advanced missiles into its prospective Eurofighter Typhoon fleet while also developing Gökhan, a domestic alternative to the Meteor system.
According to La Tribune, a French newspaper, Ankara has made its planned Eurofighter acquisition conditional on the aircraft being equipped with Meteor missiles.
Greece, which has recently expanded its military procurement through the modernization of its F-16 fleet and the acquisition of French-made Rafale jets armed with Meteor missiles, strongly opposes the sale to Turkey.
On January 29, Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias summoned the French ambassador and military attaché in Athens to formally convey Greece’s objections to the deal.
Mitsotakis reiterated his concerns on February 4 during a meeting with Macron on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels, seeking further clarification on the missile negotiations.
Meanwhile, Turkish sources reported that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Macron discussed bilateral relations and other matters during a phone call on Friday.
