Greece mulls closer military ties with Israel

Greece is planning to expand military-technical cooperation with Israel, Defense Minister Panos Beglitis said.

"We will soon sign an agreement on military cooperation which will mainly involve defense industry and supply of armaments," Beglitis said at a session of the Greek parliament on Thursday.

The minister emphasized the importance of closer military ties with Israel, but said bilateral cooperation with Tel Aviv would not affect Greece's relations with Turkey and Arab countries.

Greece has recently improved relations with Israel, exploiting the rift between Tel Aviv and Ankara over the Israeli attack on the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla last year. The raid killed nine people, all Turkish nationals.

This year, Greek authorities have already intercepted the attempts of three ships from Freedom Flotilla II to break through Israeli sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, while several other vessels from the flotilla have been detained in ports.

Greece offered pro-Palestinian activists to use other options to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been under Israeli blockade since 2006.