Greece has declined a request from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia to take part in NATO’s air policing mission in the Baltic States, citing its current obligations in the Balkans as a reason for the refusal, Postimees has reported.
The Greek newspaper Kathimeniri said that the three Baltic countries asked Greece to send F-16 jets to help safeguard their skies as part of the NATO air policing mission, but Greek officials said that the workload of the country’s air force makes it impossible to take on additional missions at this time.
The Greek Air Force already patrols the airspace of Albania, Montenegro and North Macedonia, with Bulgaria to be added to the process in 2025. The latter mission will be shared with Italy, with patrols taking place once every 15 days. The decision to expand air policing in Bulgaria followed a request which Sofia submitted to NATO earlier this year.
Greek officials also insist that their country must maintain sufficient resources to safeguard its own national airspace amidst rising regional tensions.
Source: BNS
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