Cyprus: Thoughts on sending weapons to Ukraine


The US has submitted a request to Nicosia to assist with Russian weapons on the Ukrainian fronts, as the Cypriot edition of “Kathimerini” revealed on Sunday.

A day after the Ministry of Defense of Cyprus was content to announce that “the deterrent defense capabilities of an occupied country will not be reduced in any way.” The same position on the opportunity for a complete lifting of the US embargo was reiterated by the Vice President of the ruling DISY party, Haris Georgiadis, who spoke in favor of satisfying the US request and support. Ukraine against the Russian invasion by all means The Russian weapons systems available to the Cypriot army are mainly TOR / M1 and BUK-M1-2 anti-aircraft guns, T-80 and BMP3 tanks and helicopters.

Confrontation inside

The non-refutation of the information by the Ministry of Defense added fuel to the internal political controversy over Cyprus’ stance on the Ukrainian issue. On the part of the largest opposition party, the government was called upon to take a stand on the publications. Describing the US request as “extremely serious”, AKEL recalled a statement by Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulidis before the Parliament on March 8, 2022, which ruled out the possibility of sending military equipment to Ukraine. ” “It does not contribute to peace and the cessation of bloodshed, nor does it protect the interests of the country,” the Left Party said in a statement.

With the fate of the US request for a Russian arms shipment from Cyprus to Ukraine remaining unclear by the government, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will address a special Cypriot Parliament session by teleconference next Thursday at six o’clock.

Loukianos Lyritsas, Nicosia

Source: Deutsche Welle

Source: Capital

You may also like