Missiles will arrive, Cassoulides insists

THE RUSSIAN-MADE S-300 defence missile system will be deployed on the island because the deadlock in the Cyprus problem remains, Foreign Minister Iannakis Cassoulides said yesterday.

“We will deploy the S-300s and let everyone assume their responsibilities,” Cassoulides said in an interview with London Greek Radio (LGR), noting that the deadlock in Cyprus continued.

His remarks came as Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeni Primakov assured his Greek counterpart, Theodoros Pangalos, that the S-300 missiles would be delivered to Cyprus.

Speaking after meeting Primakov in Luxembourg, Pangalos added that Russia would be only too happy to cater to the island’s every possible S-300 related technical requirement.

Referring to US envoy Thomas Miller’s warning that the situation in Cyprus could get worse before it got better, Cassoulides said the government’s policy concerning the S-300s remains unchanged.

The government’s stated position is that it will only reconsider its decision to deploy the anti-aircraft missiles if substantial progress is made in efforts to settle the Cyprus problem or if an agrement on demilitarisation of the island is reached.

Asked if Miller was referring to the possibility of a military incident in Cyprus, Cassoulides said “this is one more reason to deploy the missiles.”

Ankara has threatened to stop the deployment of the S-300s, expected on the island later this year.

The Foreign Minister agreed that the European Union (EU) Cardiff summit in June would lead to further developments in the Cyprus issue, but pointed out that it was unlikely that Turkey would be satisfied, no matter what it is offered in Cardiff.

Cassoulides argued Ankara’s stance was a well calculated policy to blame the EU for the deadlock in Cyprus, adding that Turkey was trying to make Europeans feel guilty in order to get what they wanted.

Cassoulides later London for Athens, where he will discuss developments in Cyprus’ European accession with Greek government representatives.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.