WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US State Department announced on Friday (Dec 10) the approval of the potential sale of naval frigates to Athens to challenge a deal announced between France and Greece in September.

       The Defence Security Cooperation Agency said it had approved the sale for US$6.9 billion (S$9.42 billion) of four Lockheed Martin combat frigates, known as multi-mission surface combatant ships, just 10 weeks after Athens signed a memorandum of understanding with Paris on a similar deal for French-built ships.

       The agency also approved a US$2.5 billion Lockheed programme to upgrade Greece's MEKO class frigate, including adding and upgrading weapons systems and electronics.

       The announcement suggested that France faces a fresh commercial arms deal threat after the United States wrested away a massive submarine contract for Australia in a shock announcement on Sept 15 that ruptured relations between Washington and Paris.

       France recalled its ambassadors to the United States and Australia and labelled it a "stab in the back" by an ally when Canberra ditched a longstanding deal worth billions of euros to buy conventional French submarines for US nuclear-powered vessels.

       Two weeks after that, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis set a memorandum of understanding with President Emmanuel Macron for France to buy three and possibly four French Belharra frigates for three billion euros (S$4.64 billion).

       The French ships would be built by Naval Group for delivery beginning in 2024.

       In the France-Greece deal, the two sides had until the end of this year to reach a final agreement.

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