Dendias in Saudi Arabia: crown prince thanks Greece for the Patriot battery, with “technical issues” on its stay still open

Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias visited Saudi Arabia on Thursday, October 15, where he was received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and held a working meeting with Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman. In the afternoon he travelled to Yanbu, to the base of the Hellenic Force in Saudi Arabia (ELDYSA), the Greek Patriot battery.

According to the Defence Ministry’s announcement, the discussion with the crown prince focused on Greek-Saudi strategic cooperation, regional security and the challenges to stability in the wider region. Dendias conveyed the greetings of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, while the crown prince, in the minister’s words, “also expressed his thanks for the Greek military presence and the contribution of the Patriot battery”.

With Khalid bin Salman, Dendias said, “we exchanged views on further strengthening our strategic cooperation at the level of the Armed Forces and examined matters of mutual interest concerning defence innovation”. The Saudi defence minister wrote that they reviewed the defence partnership and ways to strengthen it, that they “condemned the terrorist attacks by the Houthis against the Kingdom”, and that they discussed their impact on regional security and stability.

“Technical issues” on the stay at Yanbu

“First of all, I had the pleasure of being received by the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who thanked me for our presence in Saudi Arabia, for the presence of the Greek battery, for our participation in the Defence of Saudi Arabia,” Dendias said at the end of the visit. “Immediately afterwards, I met the Defence Minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, who began by expressing his gratitude for the presence of the Greek battery in Saudi Arabia. We then discussed a series of issues, among them technical issues concerning the stay, the continuation of the stay of our battery in Yanbu.”

At Yanbu he was welcomed on behalf of the Saudi Armed Forces by Brigadier General Ahmed Ali Aldabeis. The ELDYSA commander briefed him on the unit’s mission and the minister spoke with the personnel.

“A short while ago I had the great pleasure of shaking hands with the members of the Hellenic Force in Saudi Arabia, the women and men who serve the Patriot systems and take part in the Defence of the Kingdom, but who also contribute to the Defence of our Homeland,” he said. “With their presence here they gain useful experience. Experience that the Greek Armed Forces need, because, as we know very well, Greece is not a country that does not face threats. Our neighbourhood, our region, is not a neighbourhood of angels.”

Background

In early October the Government Council for Foreign Affairs and Defence (KYSEA) decided to extend the stay of the Patriot battery in Saudi Arabia by one month, as we reported at the time. Khalid bin Salman had already thanked Greece again for ELDYSA in July.

The battery protects the energy facilities at Yanbu, on the Red Sea, while the Houthis hit Riyadh and other cities of the Kingdom with missiles and drones. For the configuration of the Greek Patriots and their modernisation, see our analysis.