Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis met with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. It was reported that an agreement was reached during the meeting for the Greek Patriot air defense battery stationed in Saudi Arabia to continue its presence in the country.
According to information in the Greek press, Mitsotakis conveyed to Mohammed bin Salman during Sunday's meeting that they had responded positively to the Riyadh administration's request. The Greek Patriot battery has been in the country since 2021 to support Saudi Arabia's air defense.
It is noted that the battery is stationed in Yanbu on the Red Sea coast and is used in Saudi Arabia's air defense against attacks and retaliations originating from Yemen. It was reported that during the meeting, Mitsotakis condemned the actions against Saudi Arabia by the Ansar Allah movement, which holds power in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
The contacts in Riyadh also addressed the deepening of cooperation in the fields of defense, energy, and connectivity, in addition to the strategic relations between the two countries. While the topic of Iran was also on the agenda during the meeting, it was noted that Mitsotakis emphasized Greece's importance on "the security of international maritime trade routes and the uninterrupted flow of global trade."
EMC PROJECT AND NAVTEX TENSION
One of the prominent topics of the meeting was the "East to Med Data Corridor" (EMC) project, which aims to connect Europe and Asia via Greece, Cyprus, and Saudi Arabia. The submarine fiber optic data cable project has recently been the subject of a new NAVTEX tension between Turkey and Greece in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey initially objected to the EMC research announced by the Republic of Cyprus, and subsequently announced with a NAVTEX that the work was "coordinated and authorized" by Turkish authorities. Greece, on the other hand, issued a counter-NAVTEX, declaring Ankara's announcement invalid and arguing that the majority of the research coordinates were within the Greek continental shelf.
News Source: 12punto
