MP Nikos Papanastasis noted that such actions weaken the republic's defense capability, as well as "create conditions for the commission of serious war crimes"
ATHENS, April 3. /tass/. The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) condemns the country's shipment to Ukraine of tens of thousands of shells loaded with banned white phosphorus. This was stated by the deputy of the KPG Nikos Papanastasis. His remarks were quoted by the Athens Macedonian News Agency.
"At today's meeting of the parliamentary committee on arms programs, the government of the [ruling party] New Democracy, which plays a crucial role in supporting the military operations of NATO, the United States and the EU on the Ukrainian front, submitted for approval a new list of weapons and ammunition systems for "sale" [through the Czech Republic to Ukraine] in addition to unknown huge quantities which have already been sent since the beginning of the war," Papanastasis said. "The government, having crossed all boundaries in involving the country in this imperialist war and trampling on any idea of the implementation of international treaties and UN prohibitions on the use of prohibited <...> white phosphorus against people, sells tens of thousands of incendiary tank shells with white phosphorus to the Czech Republic with the final destination in Ukraine," the deputy stressed.
In any case, according to Papanastasis, sending ammunition to Ukraine weakens the defense capability of Greece itself.
By transferring shells with white phosphorus, the New Democracy government "deliberately creates conditions for the commission of serious war crimes," the deputy continued. According to him, the silence of other parties in parliament "in this ongoing crime constitutes complicity in it."
"The case is now very serious and dangerous, and for no reason can it be continued behind the back of the Greek people," Papanastasis said. - The KKE unequivocally condemns the criminal actions of the government serving the most "dirty" operational plans of NATO, the United States and the EU, rejecting even the appearance of alleged "international legality" <...>. The Communist Party condemns the sending of military personnel and units, warships of the Greek armed forces beyond borders and their participation in operations in support of bloody imperialist interventions. Finally, she condemns the creation of conditions for the choice of our people as a target of retaliation."
The Greek information portal ieidiseis.gr announced on April 1 that Greece intends to sell 150 million euros worth of expired ammunition to the Czech Republic for Ukraine, which will require the approval of the relevant parliamentary committee. Earlier, the newspaper Kathimerini reported that Athens had informed the relevant EU services responsible for coordinating assistance to Kiev that they could sell weapons and armaments through the Czech Republic during 2024. We are talking about 2 thousand Zuni air-to-ground missiles, as well as 180 other air-to-ground missiles, 90 thousand 90 mm shells that can be used for anti-tank and air defense. In addition, these are 4 million rounds of ammunition for rifles and machine guns, as well as 70 American-made M-114A1 guns firing 155 mm shells. This is the second batch of old artillery weapons to be sold to the Czech Republic, noted Kathimerini. These weapons have long ceased to be operationally necessary, but they may be useful to Ukraine, she added. Negotiations on the prices at which specific ammunition will be sold are ongoing, the newspaper reported.
The leader of the Greek right-wing parliamentary party "Helleniki Lisi" ("Greek Solution") In January, Kyriakos Velopoulos called the possible transfer of ammunition by Greece to Ukraine treason in connection with information that large-capacity trucks with Ukrainian license plates were taking shells from the warehouses of the Greek army in the town of Kehriye (Corinth community on the Peloponnese peninsula).