Posted by 
ATHENS — France has requested to borrow a Greek air defense system for the duration of the Paris Olympic Games, according to the Greek daily newspaper “Kathimerini.”
French authorities have submitted a request for the transfer of a Crotale short-range surface-to-air missile system of the Greek Air Force, the newspaper reports. The talks began at a diplomatic level last November, apparently without any development so far.
France says that as it intends to provide anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, it needs allied assistance to ensure the air defense of critical infrastructure in Paris when the city hosts the Olympic Games, Kathimerini says citing several sources.
“If our allies ask for a specific period of time — in this case the Olympic Games — a specific assistance, which does not in any way affects the country’s defense capability, this will be done, but always after coordination and consultation between the two sides,” government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told reporters during a regular briefing on Thursday. “But we are always talking — and I make it clear — about a limited specific time period.”
An official at the French embassy in Athens declined to comment.
This is the first time a report has emerged about France requesting air defense material for the Olympics. Until now, it has been reported that foreign police and military would be present during the Games.
Although not directly linked to Ukraine, the French request is seen as an indirect enticement to Athens to “unlock” part of its air defense in the general European effort to strengthen Kyiv.
The United States is expected to further pressure Athens in this regard on Friday during a planned teleconference on Ukraine’s assistance during the Ukraine Defense Contact Group.
The Crotale air-defense system in question is French-built and was integrated into the Greek air force in 2003. It has a firing range of 11-20 kilometers and a maximum engagement altitude of 6 km. It is described as “ideal” for the purpose for which the French want it.
According to a report published by the Financial Times earlier this week, European leaders during a summit in Brussels last week personally urged Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sánchez to supply air defense systems to Ukraine.
“We have already provided tangible assistance to Ukraine and its people,” Marinakis told a press briefing on Monday. “However, it must be emphasized that no action will be taken — and I stress this — that could even remotely endanger our nation’s deterrent capabilities or air defense.”
“We have consistently refuted such claims in the past, and I reiterate our stance emphatically today,” he added.
