The withdrawal of Soviet-made BMP-1 BMP-1 belonging to Greece from the islands of the Aegean Sea begins in July. This was agreed upon at the NATO summit after a meeting between Foreign Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and his German counterpart.
As Mr. Panagiotopoulos mentions on Twitter, there was an earlier meeting with Christine Lambrecht, where an agreement was discussed to exchange the BMP-1 for a Marder-1A3 of the same age “and with similar capabilities”. They, however, will not be transferred in the ratio 1/1 to the islands of the Aegean, while huge problems with transportation and training of personnel arise for at least the next two years.
Συνάντησα τη 🇩🇪 Γερμανίδα @BMVg_Bundeswehr Christine Lambrecht #ΝΑΤΟ στη Μαδρίτη.
Συζητήσαμε την πορεία εφαρμογής της Συμφωνίας υποστήριξης στην #Ukraine BMP-1 με την ανταλλαγή ΤΟΜΑ BMP-1 με Marder, 1/2 pic.twitter.com/XB6QOmItjP— N Panagiotopoulos (@npanagioto) June 29, 2022
I got to know German @BMVg_Bundeswehr Christine Lambrecht on #ΝΑΤΟ summit in Madrid. We discussed the implementation of the Support Agreement in #Ukraine with the exchange of BMP-1 TOMA for Marder with the aim of starting it during July.
The goal is to start implementing the agreement within a few days. The discussion also touched upon the issues of the defense industry, the focus was on the modernization of Greek tanks. Greek twitter comments on this topic:
Ποτε ακριβώς είπαμε οτι έρχονται τα Μάρντερ στα νησιά? Ή ειναι αδιάφορη λεπτομέρεια αυτό?
— Vassilis Vassiliadis (@VassilisDelta) June 29, 2022
When exactly will the marders arrive on the islands? Or is it a minor detail?
Αν χαθεί νησί ετοιμαστείτε για εκτελεστικό και μην αυταπάτες θα γλιτώσετε με φτηνές δικαιολογς.
Πρώτα έπρεπε να εξοπλίσετε τα νησιά με τα νέα όπλα, να εκπαιδεύσετε σωστά το στρτό καάι μετάάσναόπλα— GiovannopoulosFotios (@GiovannopoulosF) June 29, 2022
If we lose the islands, get ready for prosecution and don’t be under the illusion that you’ll run away on cheap pretexts. First, it was necessary to equip the islands with new weapons, properly train the army, and then withdraw the old one.
— SPYROM (@Spros71) June 29, 2022
Read about the problems of exchange and the technical difficulties of replacing armored vehicles in the publication General P. Geroglis: BMP-1 and Marder, we are changing “an awl for soap”.
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