Greek defence minister Dendias meets Saudi crown prince, visits Patriot battery in Yanbu
Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman in Riyadh on Thursday, 15 October, then visited the Greek Patriot battery at Yanbu that evening.
Talks in Riyadh
Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias was received in Riyadh on Thursday, 15 October, by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to the Greek ministry, the talks covered strategic cooperation between Greece and Saudi Arabia, regional security and the challenges to stability across the wider region. Dendias said in a post on X that he had passed on greetings from Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The crown prince thanked Greece for its military presence and for the contribution of the Greek Patriot battery to the kingdom's air defence.
Dendias then held a separate working meeting with Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman. The two sides exchanged views on deeper cooperation between their armed forces and on defence innovation. Dendias said the talks also covered technical matters tied to the battery's continued presence at Yanbu, and the Saudi minister repeated his thanks for the Greek unit. Dendias summed up that part of the discussion in these words:
We discussed a series of issues, including technical issues concerning the stay, the continuation of the stay of our battery in Yanbu.
Visit to the Patriot battery at Yanbu
Later on Thursday evening, Dendias visited the facilities of the Greek Force of Saudi Arabia (ELDYSA) in the Yanbu area. A Saudi major general received him on behalf of the Saudi armed forces. The ELDYSA commander briefed him on the unit's mission, and Dendias spoke with the personnel and thanked them for their work. He praised the women and men who operate the Patriot systems, saying they protect energy facilities and help keep the country's standing high.
In a statement after the visit, Dendias said:
Their presence here gives them useful experience, experience that the Greek Armed Forces need, because Greece is not a country that faces no threats.
He added that Greece's neighbourhood is not a neighbourhood of angels, pointing to the security environment around the country.
Sequence of the day
The minister's programme on Thursday, 15 October, began with the crown prince and continued with the defence minister in Riyadh before moving to Yanbu in the evening. The Greek ministry's account places the Riyadh meetings before the visit to the battery, which took place in the evening. The timeline below sets out those three stages in order.
- Dendias received by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
- Working meeting with Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman
- Visit to ELDYSA facilities and the Greek Patriot battery
Role of the battery and open questions
The Greek unit operates in Saudi Arabia to help protect critical energy facilities, a role the Greek ministry describes as one of the main pillars of defence cooperation between Athens and Riyadh. Dendias said the battery's presence keeps the prestige of Greece and its capabilities high, not only in protecting energy installations. One report of the talks says the Saudi defence minister explicitly condemned Houthi terrorist attacks against the kingdom, and that the sides assessed their effect on regional security. That condemnation appears in that single report and not in the Greek ministry's account of the Riyadh meetings.
