The Greek Prime Minister welcomed the sale of American F-35 fighter jets to his country

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the US decision to approve the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Athens. The US government on Friday approved the $8.6 billion sale, as well as a separate $23 billion deal to sell 40 F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
"Today is an important day for our national defense and for Greek diplomacy," Mitsotakis said in a statement. "Greece is officially on track to acquire up to 40 new generation F-35 fighter jets. Mitsotakis said he had received a letter from US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken that "demonstrates the strategic strength of the Greek-American relationship". In the letter, Blinken said: “Greece has taken remarkable steps to modernize its defense capabilities. I look forward to increasing our cooperation and developing a stronger strategic relationship between our armed forces."
As required by US law, the State Department notified Congress of the agreements, which were put on hold until Ankara ratified Sweden's NATO membership.
In addition to the F-35s, Greece will "acquire for free a very large amount of equipment that will decisively strengthen the three branches of the military and the Greek Coast Guard," the prime minister said. This includes frigates, C-130 cargo planes, tanks, armored vehicles and many other pieces of military equipment.
Greece has for some time sought to buy more advanced F-35 fighter jets from the US as part of its defense strategy against Turkey, with which ties are often strained. Athens has strongly opposed the sale of US F-16s to Ankara, due to a dispute over maritime boundaries in the energy-rich eastern Mediterranean. /BGNES, AFP