Greece to provide Patriot anti-missile system to Saudi Arabia -sources

Greece is expected to finalise a deal with Saudi Arabia for the deployment of a Greek Patriot anti-aircraft system next week, two government officials in Athens said on Wednesday. Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and Defence Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos are due to travel to Riyadh next week to sign the agreement, one of the officials with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Greece will lend a battery of the U.S.-made Patriot anti-aircraft system to the kingdom to protect critical energy facilities, another official said on condition of anonymity. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which is battling a Saudi-led coalition that intervened in the country's war in 2015, has stepped up drone and missile attacks on Saudi targets in recent weeks.

The Patriot system is designed mainly to counter high-altitude ballistic missile attacks, which the kingdom has often had to deal with since intervening in Yemen.

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