Paphos, Cyprus. Greece will continue to station and rotate F-16 fighter jets in Cyprus, Greek media reported on Tuesday. The aircraft have remained on the island since their deployment in March following a drone strike on the UK’s Akrotiri air force base.
Decision reported after Kysea meeting
Greek public broadcaster ERT reported that a meeting of Greece’s national security council (Kysea) on Monday decided there would continue to be a constant presence of Greek F-16s on the island, with jets rotated through the Andreas Papandreou airbase in Paphos.
Later, newspaper Proto Thema reported that two F-16s will be stationed in Paphos, and said it was confirmed that the Greek frigate Elli remains in Cypriot waters.
Patriot batteries to be withdrawn from Karpathos and Didymoteicho
The Kysea meeting also decided to withdraw two batteries of the MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system from the Aegean island of Karpathos and the town of Didymoteicho in western Thrace, with both batteries having been deployed in March.
Turkey had raised concerns at the time over the deployment, particularly in Didymoteicho near the Maritsa river border, while Greece said the battery had been placed to protect Bulgaria from a potential threat of Iranian fire.
Turkish F-16 deployment and responses
Turkey also deployed F-16s to Cyprus after the March drone strike, with six Turkish F-16s stationed at the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport since then.
Greek government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis questioned the legality of the Turkish deployment, saying it is “prohibited” for Turkey to use the aircraft for “offensive actions outside the country”.
Greece’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Lana Zochiou said Greece’s deployment was “purely defensive in nature”, while Omer Celik, spokesman of Turkey’s ruling AK Party, said, “we have to consider the security of the TRNC”.
Naval deployments in Cyprus’ vicinity
Greece was joined by France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom in deploying naval assets to Cyprus’ vicinity, prompting Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman to say there is “barely any space left in the sea” surrounding the island.
Greece initially deployed the frigate Kimon, which Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis described as the “pride of the Greek fleet” and which entered service at the end of last year. The frigate Elli was commissioned in 1982.
What do you think the continued presence of Greek and Turkish fighter jets means for security around Cyprus?