Defense Minister Kammenos freezes US deal for the upgrade of F-16

Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos announced on Sunday that he stops the procedure regarding the upgrading of Greek F-16 fighter jets by US companies; a 2.4-billion-dollar project that was agreed upon during the visit of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Washington last month

Kammenos’ decision came after New Democracy MP Dora Bakoyiannis, the sister of ND leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis, claimed with regards to the F-16 deal and used Shakespeare’s Hamlet famous quote “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.”

Kammenos announced his decision on …Twitter.

Αφού η Ντόρα βλέπει,κάτι σάπιο,στη διακρατική για τα F16 σταματώ κάθε διαδικασία έως καταθέσει στην επιτροπή με παρόντα τον Πρέσβη των ΗΠΑ

— Panos Kammenos (@PanosKammenos) November 5, 2017

“After Dora sees something rotten in the bilateral [deal] for F-16, I stop all the proceedings until she testifies to a committee in the presence of US ambassador.”

In an interview to Sunday newspaper To Vima, former Foreign Minister Bakoyiannis partly quoted Shakespear’s…Hamlet and said “something is rotten in the F-16 deal.”

The deal to upgrade Greek F-16 by US companies was sealed during Tsipras’ official visit to Washington in October, and stunned Greeks who wondered where their debt-ridden country will find the money from.