EDITOR’S NOTE (Nick Stamatakis). A few weeks ago the whole world learned about Hezbollah’s threats against Cyprus and, as a result, the Cypriot government denied any plan to get involved in a war between Israel and its enemies. Now we learn from Arab source below but also from Cyprus Mail, one of the best known news sources in Cyprus, that all kinds of military exercises have taken or are taking place. What is really going on?
Cyprus and Greece have no reason to get involved in this war. If Turkey was in our position, they would have already demanded specific items in exchange. What did Cyprus and Greece demand? From what we know, absolutely nothing. Instead, Cyrpus is already threatened with bombardment by Hezbollah, and we already know that they have hundreds of thousands of missiles in Lebanon, while Cyprus lies 50-100 miles away.
Finally, the Cyprus Mail post is titled “Cyprus-Us Joint Air Force Exercises,” but since Cyprus does NOT have an air force, it obviously pertains to the Cyprus Air Command of the National Guard. The Cyprus Air Command has two main air bases on the island, including Papandreou AFB in Paphos and Lakatamia AFB in Nicosia district. The military forces also regularly use both Paphos and Larnaca International Airports.
Does the Cyprus government still believe that it is maintaning a neutral position?
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Cyprus, US begin joint military drills in Nicosia amid escalation
Cyprus and the US launched cooperative military training on Tuesday, including air defense exercises, according to the Cypriot Defense Ministry.
According to the statement, “Within the framework of military cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and the US, training activities will take place in the morning and afternoon from August 6-9 in the Nicosia flight information region. The activities will include aerial defense operations with low-flying aircraft.”
The exercise will involve aviation and ground forces from the Cypriot National Guard.
The United States and Cyprus are expanding their bilateral collaboration in a variety of fields, including military matters. In June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Cyprus Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos announced that the two nations will begin a strategic discussion this autumn.
In July, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides stated that Nicosia was in discussions with Washington about obtaining US weapons.
The US’ secret military deployment on British Cyprus: Declassified UK
Last year, an exclusive report by Declassified UK disclosed that the US military has plans to deploy at least 129 airmen to British territory on Cyprus by next year.
Occupying 3% of Cyprus’ landmass, the number of US troops on the UK’s so-called Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) [parts of the island that remained under British occupation] has long been classified. That said, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) recently revealed to Parliament that the number of US personnel participating in current or future operational activities will not be revealed.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Defense claims that it has only 14 personnel deployed in Cyprus, including nine marines and just one airman, as per Declassified. However, the news source obtained a US Air Force (USAF) document containing information about a development project at RAF Akrotiri, the UK’s air base on Cypus from where it flies bombing missions across the Middle East.
The document, which dates back to March 2019, mentions the existence of 87 US airmen deployed to RAF Akrotiri in 2018, including 12 officers. However, the US planned to increase the number of personnel by 48% over the next six years. The US plan was to have 129 airmen deployed to the base by 2024, including 15 officers.
Recently, Cypriot government spokesperson Konstantinos Lympiotis confirmed that his country “is not involved” and “will not participate” in any wars, emphasizing that the Republic of Cyprus has excellent relations with Lebanon.
The government spokesperson shared a statement on social media from Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, emphasizing that “no country will be granted permission to conduct military operations through Cyprus.” He indicated that all negotiations with Lebanon will occur at a diplomatic level.
This announcement comes after Sayyed Nasrallah warned the Cypriot government about allowing its airports and bases to be used by the Israeli occupation. “The Cypriot government should be warned that opening its airports and bases to the enemy to target Lebanon means it has become part of the war.”
How disgusting. Greek / Cypriot leaders have no ethics, no loyalty, no courage. They’re just dogs who bow to their master and his money and power. Absolutely disgusting:
George. The only disgusting thing is your characterization of the Greeks and Cypriots as “dogs” who bow to their master. How is a joint exercise of Cyprus with the US triggers you to say things that make no sense? The US has been paying attention to Cyprus and it can only be a good thing. Look where Cyprus’ “independent”, third world orientation during Makarios’ reign got her. She lost 37% of her territory. The West is the one and ONLY hope for Cyprus to survive in a volatile region. Not Russia, not Iran, not the Palestinians.
Not when its President assures everyone – just two weeks ago – that Cyprus will be neutral in any conflict. The report is clear: the joint exercises will not use the British bases but only Cypriot infrastructure. What will he say when the missiles start falling on Greek-Cypriot heads?
Nick
Hezbolah threatened aggression if Cyprus was to get involved helping Israel. They can’t tell an independent country who to be conducting military exercises with, as long as its not Israel.
Only you would think that helping American fighter jets – that would fight alongside Israel – know how to use your airports is not the same as helping Israel… in the real world, nobody would blame Hezbollah if it bombed these airports to render them useless..
Neither Greece nor Cyprus are independent.
Makarios for all his faults, and he had them was not in power when Turkey invaded Cyprus. Makarios was overtgrown by the pro NATO regime of Dimitrios Ioannides which led to the Turkish invasions.
NATO did nothing to stop the ethnic ic cleansing of the Greek population of Constantinople in 1955 and after.
Athens has asked NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg to restrain Turkey and condemn Turkish threats to invade the islands.
NATO has handicapped Greece for decades. Greece should withdraw from NATO and both Athens and Nicosia should establish a partnership with Russia or adopt a position of neutrality.
The drive to get Cyprus firmly into NATO (which is totally useless when it comes to defending it from would-be-fellow NATO member Turkey) is continuing at increasing speed. I’ve spoken to several Greek American neocons and they’re very big on the Greece-Cyprus-Israel partnership as cemented in Washington D.C. There are already two NATO countries occupying Cyprus: the Turks and the Brits. This is just grabbing whatever is left, with absolutely zero security guarantees.
As with many other European governments, the Christodoulides administration is shoehorning this new policy against the will of the local populace. When I was in Cyprus last, I saw how the Israeli government paid for huge billboards promoting their cause, in a country which has historically always been sympathetic to Palestine. Christodoulides invited the American FBI to ‘assist with investigating sanctions violations’ re: Russia.
Is the United States doing anything to solve the Cyprus problem? What pressure have they put on Erdogan to return to the UN bizonal framework? Did Christodoulides ask for Americans to send border control agents to prevent the big influx of migrants from the occupied north? During my last trip to Cyprus I hardly could find a Greek waiter at any restaurant, most are now migrants. What of all this will America solve? What is the track record?
Ειναι τραγικο οι λαθρομεταναδτες να σντικαθιστουν τους Κυπριους στις εκιχειρησεις και εστιατορια!
Επειγει η απελασι τους για να σωθουν οι Κυπριοι απο αφανισμο!
Όσον αφορά τα ανταλλάγματα , Κύπρος και Ελλάδα, θα πάρουν ότι έχει
ο Καράμπελας…….Ποιός τολμά να
ζητήσει ανταλλάγματα αφού είναι όλοι
στημένοι ακόμα και οι αντιπολιτευόμενοι δεν κάνουν
αντιπολίτευση ελπίζοντας στην
εύνοια αυτών που στήνουν “ ηγέτες”.