Greece said it will purchase 40 F-16 jets.

Greece rejected an offer to purchase the jets from the U.S. government and will buy the aircraft directly from General Dynamics in a deal worth at least $900 million, a Greek Defense Ministry official said. The official, asking to speak anonymously, said the Socialist government chose not to buy the F-16s from Washington because it fears that the United States will seek a pledge to keep four U.S. naval and air bases in Greece past 1988. Athens has said they must be dismantled at that time. Greece is also buying 40 French-made Mirage 2000 jets to modernize its air force and better confront what Athens sees as a threat from Turkey, its NATO partner and neighbor.