Athens calls on European countries to halt military exports to Turkey

ATHENS — In letters he sent to his European counterparts, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias called on Germany, Spain, and Italy to suspend military exports to Turkey in light of the latter’s aggressions in the eastern Mediterranean and the wider region.

Dendias’s letters to German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laia, and Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio, condemned Turkish provocations in the region, which he said aimed to create a fait accompli in the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, according to the Greek Newspaper Kathimerini.

Dendias praised the recent European Council decision calling on European Union member states to suspend the export of military equipment to countries that use the equipment in hostile acts or cause regional instability, as is the case with Turkey.

In his letter to Maas, Dendias implored Germany in particular to prevent German exports of submarines, frigates, aircraft, and armored vehicles to Turkey.

Turkey is Germany’s largest arms importer, making up more than a third of all German weapons sales, according to a classified document revealed by the German Press Agency (DPA) in June.

According to the document, Turkey received € 344.6 million worth of German weapons in 2019.