Cyprus holds military drill with France, Italy and Greece to bolster security in east Mediterranean
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Image provided from Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, French pilots walk towards to the Rafael aircrafts during a military exercise between Cyprus, France, Italy and Greece, in Paphos air base in southwest of the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. The president of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides says joint military maneuvers between Cyprus, France, Italy and Greece demonstrates the readiness of the four European Union members to ensure conditions of security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean. Credit: AP/Uncredited
NICOSIA, Cyprus — The Cypriot president said Thursday that joint military maneuvers with three other European Union member states underway in the Eastern Mediterranean underscore the bloc's readiness to ensure security and stability in the region.
President Nikos Christodoulides said the drill with France, Italy and Greece is of “particular geostrategic significance” for the 27-member bloc and others, including the United States.
Christodoulides said his government is putting a “special emphasis” on upgrading the island’s military installations in order to take full advantage of its geographical location at the southeasternmost corner of Europe and close to the Middle East and Africa.
He spoke ahead of a visit to the French frigate Chevalier Paul, which is taking part in the drill, and stressed that the show of strength is not turned against any other country — a veiled allusion to Turkey, with which Cyprus shares a violent past, including a 1974 Turkish invasion brought on by a coup aimed at forming a union with Greece.
Since then, the island has been divided along ethnic lines, with the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north separated from the Greek Cypriot south where the internationally recognized government is seated.
NATO-member Turkey does not recognize Cyprus as a state, and claims much of the island’s offshore exclusive economic zone where several significant natural gas deposits have been discovered.
The five-day drill, which kicked off on Monday and is code-named EUNOMIA 4-2023, involves naval and air forces, including French Rafale jet fighters and Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft, according to a Cyprus Defense Ministry statement.
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In this image provided from Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus, a Cypriot soldier stands on armored vehicle as a military helicopter passes in the background during a military exercise between Cyprus, France, Italy and Greece, in Mari in eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus, on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. The president of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides says joint military maneuvers between Cyprus, France, Italy and Greece demonstrates the readiness of the four European Union members to ensure conditions of security and stability in the eastern Mediterranean. Credit: AP/Uncredited
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