After shaking hands with France for 18 Rafale aircraft, Greece will pay 2.3 billion Euros to Paris.
Retired Ambassador Tugay Uluçevik, who evaluated the initiatives of the Greeks to our newspaper in the last months, "Ankara should declare that military build-up on islands with demilitarized status is a reason for war. If our parliament took the steps taken for the territorial waters of Greece in 76 and 96 as a reason for war, it should say the same about the demilitarization of the islands. Greece only understands this language," he said.
French Defense Minister Florence Parly met with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Panayiotopoulos in Athens. Foreign ministers of both countries shook hands to deliver my planes. The happy state of the two leaders, who answered the questions of the press after the agreement, did not go unnoticed. With the signed agreement, Greece became the first country to buy Rafale from France. Stating that they will conduct joint exercises with Greece in April, Parly said that the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle will arrive in the Eastern Mediterranean at the end of February accompanied by a Greek frigate. Parly also announced that they will participate in the exercise in April with 8 Rafale aircraft.
"IT GAVE MESSAGES THAT THREAT TURKEY"
Retired ambassador Tugay Uluçevik, who evaluated this situation in our newspaper, said, "Greece is implementing a policy of threat and tension against Turkey by taking the EU behind it and with the encouragement of some EU countries to some extent. It is futile to think and wait that our problems can be solved within the framework of exploratory talks with Greece. Because, even on the day when the exploratory talks were announced, Greece gave messages that provoked and threatened Turkey, and they repeated the words we heard from them about the conflicts in the Aegean for decades. Greece says that there is only one problem between me and Turkey in the Aegean Sea, that is the determination of the continental shelf, the determination of the sea border. Other issues are the issues we want to be on the agenda. In them, the width of the airspace, the demilitarization of the islands with non-military status, the violation of the rights of the Western Thrace Turkish minority arising from the agreements and human rights. Athens says we will not meet them. These are not a problem between us and Turkey, but Ankara's threatening allegations that violate our sovereign rights."
Stating that the invitation to the exploratory meeting was wrong in terms of timing, Ambassador Uluçevik, "The invitation was made after sanctions decision and threat of EU against Turkey, which gave the opinion that Turkey was backing in the face of pressure in Greece." he added.
WHAT ARE THE CHARACTERISTICS OF RAFALE AIRCRAFT?
The Greek Parliament approved the draft law on the purchase of 18 Rafale fighter jets from France on January 14, 2021. The Athens government announced that 6 new and 12 second-hand Rafale warplanes would be purchased from France for 2.3 billion euros. It was stated that the first delivery from France will be received in July, and that all 18 aircraft will arrive in the country in the middle of 2023. Rafales are produced by Dassault Aviation, one of the leading companies in the French aviation industry. These planes are actually the upgrades of the French Mirage series. Rafale, which made its first test flights in 1986, has not received demand from many countries until today. France uses these planes in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mali, and Libya. It can be produced for one and two persons. Rafales can take off from land and warships, they have double reactors. Planes can also carry nuclear bombs. Rafales can reach at a speed of 2 thousand 200 kilometers per hour. Another feature of these aircraft, which can take off at a distance of 400 meters, is that they are the only foreign warplanes that can take off from American warships.