British fighter jet deployment to Cyprus
TURKISH Cypriot and Greek Cypriot groups have protested against the UK’s deployment of four extra Typhoon jets to its RAF Akrotiri base in the southern part of Cyprus.
A British Sovereign Base Areas spokesman told Cyprus Today earlier this week that the deployment is “part of ongoing support for wider Nato defensive efforts to patrol the skies above Eastern Europe during this time of heightened tension on the Ukrainian border”.
HMS Trent — a UK warship — has also begun conducting patrols in the Eastern Mediterranean alongside Nato allies from Canada, Italy, Spain and Turkey.
Reports on Thursday said that another British warship, HMS Diamond, which had been due to set sail for the Eastern Mediterranean from Portsmouth last week, had its departure delayed due first to Storm Eustice in Britain and then because of a “technical issue”.
Cyprus Socialist Party (KSP) general secretary Mehmet Birinci said in a written statement that the party is “against the use of British bases in Cyprus, all other ports of the island, naval bases, military and civilian airports in any conflict”.
The statement continued: “The danger of a brutal war is a substantial threat not only to European peace but also to world peace. This war has the potential to turn into a nuclear conflict. Such a conflict is not only a real threat to humanity but to the very existence of our planet.”
A statement from the bicommunal Cyprus Peace Council (CPC) — issued before Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine — said it “condemns the arrival of British Typhoon fighter jets” at Akrotiri.
“The British military bases in Akrotiri are being prepared to be used once again as a launching pad,” the statement said.
“The arrival of the British fighter jets is part of the escalation of tension promoted by the USA, Britain, and Nato in Eastern Europe centred on the
Ukrainian-Russian border. The Nato forces are preparing for war without taking into account the security and future of the peoples.
“We are sending out a clear message that the British fighter jets are not welcome in our country.
[Just] as British fighter jets have come, they must leave NOW! Cyprus is neither a launching pad for Nato, nor for the British.
“The British bases are a cancer on the territory of our country, putting the peoples of the region in constant danger. The Cypriot people are fighting to make our country a bridge of cooperation between the peoples.”
The CPC added that the “Government of the Republic of Cyprus . . . must not get involved in any way in the escalation of tension and should not consent to our country being used by the British and the other Nato military forces”.
Meanwhile representatives of some Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot political parties issued a statement about the developments in Ukraine following one of their regular meetings on Wednesday.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), the Democrat Party (DP), the Cyprus Socialist Party (KSP), and the New Cyprus Party (YKP), as well as Greek Cypriot parties DISY, AKEL, EDEK, the Cyprus Green Party, and the United Democrats.
The statement read that the political parties in attendance “expressed concerns about ongoing developments between Russia and Ukraine and called on all actors involved to respect international law and keep the channels for dialogue and diplomacy open”.