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During the negotiations for the Convention on Cluster Munitions held in Oslo in 2007-2008 the Greek government had shown its full and unconditional agreement with the U.S. action against the destruction of cluster bombs that are considered the "top killer" of civilians. The messages sent by the U.S. embassy in Athens made it clear that at least a year and a half before the signing of the Convention by the parties, supporting the ban on the production, transport and storage of cluster munitions, Greece had convinced Washington in its support.

The USA and Greece are two of the 17 countries in the world that produce such munitions. At the same time, 108 countries, of which 33 European, signed the Convention for their destruction. Among them are Germany, France, Britain, Cyprus, Japan and many others, but not Greece. In March 2007, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was headed by Dora Bakoyannis and the Defence Ministry - by Evangelos Meimarakis, a Greek diplomat had convinced the Americans that Greece supported their position. According to the confidential message 07 441 Athens, he even expressed his "surprise and disappointment" about the behaviour of countries like France, Japan and Britain, which although initially had expressed their disagreement the issue to be discussed outside the framework of the Convention prohibiting or restricting the use of certain conventional weapons, they eventually signed the final documents during the first meeting on cluster munitions held in Oslo a month earlier.

According to message 07 Athens 1076 sent in May 2007, the same diplomat said that the position of the Greek Ministry of Defence was as close as possible to the position of the United States. Moreover, he stressed that the country had been invited to participate in the meeting on cluster bombs in Lima, because the organizers wanted to have as many participants as possible, not because the Greek position was in complete variance with that of Norway.

The next meeting of the Greek diplomat with US officials took place in December 2007 shortly after the meeting held under the Oslo Process in Vienna. It is mentioned in message 07 Athens 2347 that Greece had declared its unwillingness to participate in other meetings and was fully bound in the negotiations on cluster munitions under the Convention prohibiting or restricting the use of certain conventional weapons. In parallel, Greece had shared the concerns of the USA that some of the provisions discussed in the Oslo Process could have significant impact on the military cooperation between the parties that agreed with the specific conditions on cluster munitions and those that were against.

"We're with you," said the Greek diplomat and pushed the officials of the U.S. embassy to inform promptly their Greek colleagues, especially the Ambassador of Athens in Geneva, about the U.S. concerns and actions on the matter.

At the same time, the European Union expressed its wish a Convention on cluster bombs to be signed as quickly as possible. Brussels welcomed the agreement of Washington that the matter should be discussed within the frameworks of the Convention on conventional weapons, but pointed out that it preferred a more ambitious order. The U.S. representative, in turn, presented his country's anxiety that the military cooperation between the parties would be undermined due to the general prohibition of such weapons.

Meanwhile, all countries were aware that the negotiations on the prohibition of the munitions that killed and injured innocent civilians in more than 20 countries for more than 40 years entered the final phase. According to Amnesty International, cluster munitions have caused more casualties than any other weapon system in Iraq in 2003 and in Kosovo in 1999. Human Rights Watch reported that 1228 bombs, which had shed 248,056 small bombs, were used in Afghanistan in the period 2001 - 2002.

The confidential message 08 Athens 320 on the submission of a protest note on the US disagreement with the ban on cluster munitions sent in March 2008 made it clear that Greece supported them unconditionally. The same applies to Turkey, according to the secret messages sent to the U.S. foreign ministry. Five days before the start of the formal negotiations in Oslo U.S. embassies in Athens and Ankara informed Washington that the two countries would not sign the Convention.

According to an article in Ta Nea newspaper, Greece is producing large numbers of cluster munitions, although it is not clear from the website of the Greek Defense Systems company. NGOs argue that these are 107 mm ammunitions GRM20 and 155 mm GRM49, the first containing 20 bombs and the second - 49. According to the Human Rights Watch data on the policy and practices of countries on cluster munitions, Turkey also produces 155 mm shells and 122 mm rockets.

The article states that Greece's neighbouring countries like Bulgaria, Albania and Macedonia have signed and ratified the Convention on cluster munitions in Oslo. Cyprus and Italy have also signed it but it has not been ratified in their Parliaments yet.