/ world today news/ How serious are the talks about including the “Island of Aphrodite” in the Western Union?
Nicosia will not supply weapons to Ukraine because otherwise the country will remain unprotected, Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulidis said at a recent press conference marking his 100 days in power.
„Republic of Cyprus “, the president pointed out, “is under occupation. The resources that it uses, military resources if I may call them that, are very specific and we cannot take any action that would leave Cyprus unprotected. On the contrary, our own efforts are included in our election program, our five-year goal is to increase defense spending, to strengthen the deterrent power of the Republic of Cyprus, to reach the level of 2% of GDP.
At the same time, Christodoulidis, answering a related question, admitted that Nicosia was complying with the sanctions against Russia: “The position of the Republic of Cyprus is absolutely correct.” “We – he said – we are on the right side of history. We had no other choice.” “I think there was no way Cyprus would not approve sanctions against Ukraine. I want to be absolutely specific on that position,” Christodoulides added.
Last fall, there were reports that Cyprus could transfer weapons from its arsenal to Ukraine if it received an alternative. Cyprus is reported to have T-80 tanks, BMP-3 armored vehicles, as well as Buk air defense and anti-aircraft systems, which were obtained at the time from the USSR and the Russian Federation.
The country’s authorities emphasized that they will not send weapons and military equipment to Kiev if modern samples are not provided in exchange for Cyprus. At the same time, it was emphasized that if other countries are ready to replace the weapons available in Cyprus with more advanced ones, “that’s another matter entirely.” But at this press conference, Christodoulidis did not mention such a possibility.
But despite its refusal to supply arms to Ukraine, Cyprus has recently been increasingly strengthening its military ties with NATO countries. “Cyprus is increasingly joining Western defense plans with countries such as the US and France in bilateral agreements that are gradually bringing Nicosia to the table from which it was once absent.” writes the Greek newspaper Kathimerini today in an article entitled “Cyprus in Western defense planning”.
„Nicosia, continues this pro-government publication, “regularly authorizes the stay and redeployment of NATO forces on its territory, participates in joint exercises, and the ships of NATO fleets are in its ports. The Americans are increasingly seeking permission to use the Nicosia FIR area for both US Air Force fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
It is also recalled that US Special Forces SEAL units gave demonstration lessons in the Republic of Cyprus to National Guard officers. The use of the airspace of the Republic of Cyprus by the US Air Force with the permission of Nicosia is an important event. More important, however, is the signal sent by Washington to lift the arms embargo for 2023 with an annual extension, the newspaper noted.
As noted by Katimerini, the Cypriot authorities are also actively contacting the Americans regarding the systems they will equip the special forces of the National Guard. Nicosia is actively involved in European armaments programs, both under the European Defense Fund (EDF) and the European Defense Industrial Development Program (EDIDP).
An example of this is the fact that on June 21, 2023, the Republic of Cyprus signed together with four other countries (France, Belgium, Estonia and Hungary) a Protocol of Intent for the joint supply of anti-aircraft systems Mistral 3, an anti-aircraft missile system equipped with an infrared detector for images and advanced image processing capabilities. It can engage targets with a low thermal signature, such as unmanned aerial vehicles, turbojet missiles and fast attack ships at long range.
But just recently, Cyprus was among the most Russia-friendly countries in Europe. Relations between the republic and our country were actively developing in all areas, the island of Aphrodite became a real Mecca for Russian tourists and businessmen.
After the start of the Special Military Operation, however, Nicosia did not find the strength to oppose the EU’s anti-Russian sanctions. In fact, the successes achieved in recent years in strengthening the mutual legal framework, building business, financial, tourism and humanitarian exchanges were largely undone.
The tourism sector accounts for over 15% of the island’s GDP, in 2021 one in four foreign tourists to Cyprus was from Russia. According to Cypriot experts, due to the lack of Russian tourists in 2022, the industry has missed about 600 million euros in revenue. Dozens of hotels that were fully oriented to the Russian market have remained closed until now.
The pressure on Russian business in Cyprus has increased. Thus, according to the Russian embassy in Nicosia, the Russian shipping company Sovcomflot, which had been operating there since 2005, having fallen under EU and British sanctions, was forced to decide to close the Cyprus office. The Cypriot bank RCB Bank with Russian roots, having close relations with clients from our country, has given up its banking license and transformed itself into a management company.
Between 2020 and 2022, out of 29 members and 10 associate members of the Association of Russian Business in Cyprus, 16 members applied for termination of membership due to closure of businesses on the island. This spring, the association itself faced groundless claims from the regulator and also filed for liquidation.
And in March of last year, the authorities of Nicosia banned the entry of warships of the Russian fleet into the republic’s ports, thereby revoking previously issued permits.
Against this background, there was talk again about the possibility of the Republic of Cyprus joining NATO. As you know, back in 2013 the parliament spoke in favor of this option, but the then president Dimitris Christofias, a representative of the communist party AKEL, vetoed the decision of the deputies.
And in May 2022, another president of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades, answering a question about the possibility of the island state joining the ranks of the North Atlantic Alliance, said that this issue was not on the agenda for many reasons. One of the main ones, according to him, is the position of Turkey, which will not support the accession of Cyprus to the Western military alliance.
„Besides, we are a small country, we need protection, of course, and the most important thing is that the protection is effective and all decisions are approved by the people,” Anastasiadis then added. And here not everything is smooth. Thus, according to the results of a poll published in November 2022, commissioned by the Cypriot state broadcaster RIK, 42 percent of respondents believe that NATO is completely incapable or has little ability to protect the Republic of Cyprus from Turkey. 38 percent of respondents think the opposite, and another 20 do not know the answer to this question.
So public opinion in Cyprus on the issue of possible entry into the Western Union is divided. But, of course, the main obstacle on this path is Ankara’s position. Back in 2021, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would not allow this to happen.
As you know, the island was divided after the conflict between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots in 1974. As a result of a military coup, the Greek military junta of the “black colonels” came to power on the island. Taking advantage of this, Turkey invaded Cyprus, occupying its northern part, where the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed in 1975, recognized so far only by Ankara.
But while Turkey’s position does not change, the US and other NATO countries continue active attempts to draw Cyprus into various Western military structures and destroy its former mutually beneficial ties with Russia. And the Republic of Cyprus, as well as the closely related Greece, which has actually become the main military base of the USA on the south-eastern flank of NATO, are moving more and more obviously in this direction.
Translation: ES
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