Germany to help Greece send Soviet-era combat vehicles to Ukraine

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she was hopeful that a rapid agreement could be reached with Greece on a swap that would allow Soviet-era combat vehicles to be transferred to Ukraine as it fights off Russia's invasion, reported dpa.

"I think we're on track," Baerbock said in Athens on Friday after meeting her Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias. The materiel in question, BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, have been inspected and Ukraine had been included in the talks, she said.

According to Greek Defence Ministry sources, around 100 BMP-1 IFVs are involved. Germany is to supply Marder IFVs to replace them.

Germany has offered similar swap arrangements to eastern European NATO members still operating Soviet-era weapons that the Ukrainian military is familiar with.

Progress on the deals has been slow, with accusations levelled at Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), the dominant party in the ruling coalition, of a reluctance to supply Ukraine with heavy weapons.

Although the pace and breadth of arms deliveries have picked up in recent weeks, Baerbock, a member of the Greens, a junior coalition partner, acknowledged the delay last weekend.

Meanwhile, lawmakers from the Greens, the liberal FDP, the third coalition partner, and from the conservative opposition parties have come out in favour of supplying Ukraine directly with more modern German weapons.

Baerbock has not as yet taken a position on the issue.

The question of weapons proved contentious on the visit. After meeting Baerbock, Dendias also hit out at sales of German arms to Turkey, pointing in particular to submarines sold to the Turkish navy.

"There is a big danger with these submarines that the balance of power in the Mediterranean is disrupted," he said.

He accused Turkey of threatening Greece with war and of illegally occupying part of Cyprus, another member of the European Union.

"Yes, Greece has the same submarines, but we are not threatening anyone," Dendias said.

Earlier on Friday, Baerbock backed Greece in the conflict with fellow NATO member Turkey over the sovereignty of Greek islands in the eastern Aegean.

"Greek islands are Greek territory, and no one has the right to query this," Baerbock said. The German government would show solidarity with Greece and stand up for the European family, she said, adding that this would be her message to Turkey when she travels to Istanbul later on Friday.

Conflict within the Western alliance was precisely what Russian President Vladimir Putin was aiming at, she added, referring to Moscow's war on Ukraine that is accompanied by divisive activity in several areas.

Dendias expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of support at European Union level for Greece in its conflict with Turkey, saying he had "often felt alone" when presenting Greece's case in Brussels.

He called on EU foreign ministers to back EU policy when visiting Turkey by condemning the violence threatened by Ankara.

Turkey has questioned the sovereignty of Greek islands in the eastern Aegean and demanded the withdrawal of Greek military units in terms of international treaties dating back to the first half of the last century, while Greece points to the presence of landing boats on the Turkish coast.

Turkish jets also repeatedly overfly Greek islands. Meanwhile the two are also at loggerheads over gas under the sea floor in a conflict that involves Cyprus as well.

Turning to the issue of pushbacks of migrants entering Greece from Turkey, Baerbock repeated her remarks made on Thursday to the effect that pushbacks were illegal and that human rights needed to be respected along the EU's external borders.

She acknowledged, however, that Germany had for too long left EU member states on those borders on their own with the problem, and she called for a joint EU solution to sea rescue operations.

Greek border guards have for years been criticized for systematically pushing back migrants from Turkey in order to stop them applying for asylum in Greece. The EU border agency Frontex is also accused of being involved in the pushbacks.

According to the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR, around 6,250 people have crossed into Greece from Turkey since the beginning of the year, either via the land border or from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands. There have been repeated accidents and deaths, with Athens and Ankara each blaming the other.

Dendias also raised the contentious issue of reparations for the German occupation of Greece in World War II during the visit. "I would like to emphasise that the issue of reparations by Germany remains open for the Greek government, but mainly for Greek society," he said.

Baerbock confirmed on Thursday that Germany continued to reject Greek demands for war reparations. Germany sees the issue as closed, basing its position on the 1990 Two Plus Four Agreement in terms of which the country was reunified.

But she added after the talks with Dendias that Germany acknowledged responsibility for its history and that no "final line" had been drawn under it.

Germany had imposed "unimaginable guilt on itself" in World War II, she said, expressing understanding for the Greek position, calling for an "honest dialogue" with Greece over the past and being prepared to offer social and medical assistance to survivors, along with support for commemoration projects.