Ukraine-Greece Naval Drone Deal Stalls Over Control Dispute

(MENAFN) Negotiations between Ukraine and Greece over the joint production of naval drones have hit a wall, after Kiev insisted on retaining oversight of how Athens deploys the technology — a condition Greece flatly refused, local media have reported.

The two countries had reached a promising agreement last November, according to Greek media, under which Ukraine would supply drone components to be assembled at Greek shipyards, while Greek firms would contribute electronic and optical systems. The collaboration was set to yield an enhanced variant of the Magura-type attack drones that Kiev has deployed extensively against Russia.

The deal unraveled when Ukrainian officials demanded a binding say over the Greek military's operational use of the jointly produced drones, the newspaper Kathimerini reported on Thursday. Athens rejected the condition outright. According to Kathimerini, Greece believes Ukraine imposed the terms in a calculated bid to "maintain a balance" with its longtime rival Türkiye.

The breakdown reflects the broader tangle of rivalries complicating Southeastern European defense cooperation. Greece and Türkiye have long traded accusations of stoking bilateral tensions, with Athens reportedly moving to block Ankara's entry into the EU's Drone Wall program — a bloc-wide initiative designed to bolster detection and interception capabilities against hostile unmanned aerial vehicles.

Türkiye, for its part, has cultivated a carefully neutral posture throughout the conflict, hosting Russian-Ukrainian peace talks in both 2022 and 2025 and presenting itself as an impartial mediator. Ankara has also openly condemned Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian-linked tankers operating near the Turkish coastline last year — a stance that has done little to ease Athens' suspicions over Kiev's motivations in the collapsed drone deal.

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