Greek Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said that the Hellenic Defence Systems (EAS) could manufacture Russian Kalashnikov automatic rifles in Egion, when the EU lifted the economic embargo against Russia.

Responding to a question asked by Communist party (KKE) deputy, Liana Kanelli, before the parliamentary defence committee on whether NATO would purchase Kalashnikov weapons, Kammenos said: ‘I don’t know if NATO will be buying Kalashnikovs, but when they are produced in a NATO member they receive the alliance’s certificate and can be sold to NATO countries’.

The Minister revealed that Greece and Russia had already agreed on collaborating for the co-production of Kalashnikov rifles in the city of Patras, once the embargo by the EU on Russia was lifted. Kammenos explained that the product manufactured in Greece would benefit the country, as it could be sold to other NATO members because it would have the seal of approval by NATO and the EU.

The Minister underlined that the Hellenic Defence Systems would neither shut down or be privatised, while he went on to say that Greece’s involvement in trilateral collaborations with Israel, Cyprus and Egypt in the Mediterranean Sea would promote a sense of security in the region and open up the prospect of exploiting energy resources in the area by finally setting the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ).