The allies had hoped Spain could be one of the donors as Kiev tries to fend off a large-scale invasion by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Meanwhile, Athens also refuses to underwrite the system given its security concerns with Turkey. “Greece will not send S-300 or Patriot to Ukraine,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said during an interview with the domestic Skai TV station on Thursday, according to Reuters.
In recent days, Greek media have reported that a swap deal could be possible, whereby the United States would agree to replace either the Athens-based Patriot system or the inactive Soviet-era S-300 system based on the island of Crete. could be sent to Ukraine.
“We've been asked and we've explained why we can't do that,” Mitsotakis said, explaining that the systems are “critical to our deterrence capability.”
Germany, which has pledged three of its Patriot batteries to Ukraine, has led to accusations of lobbying countries to donate their unused systems. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said this week that he “expects” the country to make the pledge, adding that he “did not understand” the rejection by Spain and Greece.
On Friday, around 50 countries will gather via video conference for US-led talks on coordinating more military aid. Along with Spain, Greece and Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Poland have Patriot systems in their stockpiles.
