London, United Kingdom. Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said Greece’s recent deployment of military assets to Cyprus was intended to protect the United Kingdom’s bases on the island rather than the Cypriot people. He made the comments in an interview with Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.
Claims about Greek deployments and foreign use of bases
Varoufakis said Greece’s prime minister “supposedly sent four F-16s and a frigate to protect Cyprus,” adding that “in reality, he is protecting the British base there.” He also said the United States “is using that land to kill people in Gaza and Iran.”
Comments on Europe and the war in Gaza
Varoufakis said, “Europeans are cowards and guilty of antisemitism. They used to support the Holocaust, now they support the genocide of Palestinians.”
Recent deployments to Cyprus and the surrounding area
After the British Akrotiri air force base was hit by an Iranian-made drone on March 2, Greece deployed two frigates to the island, including the Kimon, which the Greek prime minister later described during a visit to the island as the “pride of the Greek fleet,” and stationed four F-16 fighter jets in Paphos.
France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom have also deployed naval or aerial assets to Cyprus and its vicinity. Turkey has deployed six F-16s and Hisar-A surface-to-air missiles at the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport.
Varoufakis on Greece-Turkey tensions and arms sales
Asked whether Turkey and Greece are being “pitted against each other over Cyprus,” Varoufakis said this has been the case for decades, “even before I was born.”
He cited an example from his military service, saying he served on a Greek navy ship that encountered a Turkish navy ship and later learned that both ships were identical and built in the same US shipyard. He said tension between Turkey and Greece is “extremely profitable for arms dealers,” and added, “The west, for its own interest, does not care about Turkey or Greece.”
Assessment of Turkish foreign policy
Varoufakis said Turkey, in its foreign policy, has “achieved what Greece failed to do.”
What impact do you think increased military deployments around Cyprus could have on regional stability?
