French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly declined Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ request to block the sale of Meteor missiles to Turkiye.

Axar.az informs that Greek newspaper EFSYN reported that Mitsotakis met with Macron earlier this week in Paris in an effort to prevent the sale of Meteor missiles to Turkiye. However, the French president informed the Greek leader that blocking the sale was not an option.

French officials reportedly explained to Mitsotakis that the Meteor missile system is developed by a multinational consortium, which includes France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Sweden.

Due to this international collaboration, France alone cannot unilaterally halt sales to a specific country.

According to sources cited by Greek media, Greece may now seek support from the other countries involved in the Meteor consortium to oppose Turkiye’s acquisition of the missiles.

The Meteor is a beyond-visual range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM) system developed by MBDA, a European defense consortium.

Since 2021, Athens has purchased 24 "Rafale" fighter jets, each equipped with "Meteor" missiles. Nevertheless, Greece continues to try to prevent Turkiye from acquiring these missiles.