By Jean Christou
TOP Cyprus defence officials were present at the test-firing of two S-300 missiles in Russia yesterday as the government reiterated its pledge to cancel the controversial deal in the event of progress on demilitarisation.
A proposal for a no-fly zone over the island, which Washington says it is now willing to consider, would go a long way towards the goal of demilitarisation, the government said yesterday.
US Defence Secretary William Cohen said on Wednesday that the US would be willing to consider Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos’ proposal for a no-fly zone in an effort to head off the deployment of the Russian surface-to-air missiles in November.
But Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Ecevit, yesterday ruled out any negotiations over linking the non-deployment of the S-300s with the no-fly proposal.
“We will not accept any attempts to turn the subject into a bargaining chip with Turkey for the abandonemtn of the S-300s, Reuters quoted Ecevit as saying in Ankara.
Cohen said Washington was looking for ways to reduce tensions in the region after Turkey threatened to use all means possible to prevent the deployment of the missiles, which had originally been set for delivery next month.
The proposal for a no-fly zone was made by Pangalos to US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright more than a month ago in Washington. “The no-fly zone is one possibility that could be explored, but we have not made any determination on what the result should be in terms of how we achieve this reduction in tensions,” Cohen said.
He added that the US was not encouraging Turkey to take any military action. “There should be no mistake that we are in any way lending support for any kind of aggression on the part of Turkey,” Cohen said.
Cyprus has repeatedly said it will consider cancelling the missile deal if progress is made on the political question or on the demilitarisation of the island.
Yesterday government spokesman Christos Stylianides said the proposal made to Albright by Pangalos had been adopted by the government “as part of a joint strategy by Greece and Cyprus”.
Stylianides also confirmed a report in yesterday’s Phileleftheros that Albright and President Clerides had exchanged letters on the missile deal, but he refused to reveal any details.
“I can confirm Albright’s letter and a reply by President Clerides, who does not wish at this stage to reveal the content of the letter,” Stylianides said.
Phileleftheros said Albright’s letter had suggested either that Cyprus purchases shorter range missiles or deploy the S-300s off the island. The S- 300s have a range of 90 miles.
Cypriot and Greek delegations, including Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou and National Guard Commander Demetris Demou, yesterday attended the test firing of two missiles in the Astrakhan region of southern Russia, 1,200 km outside Moscow.
According to CyBC reports from Moscow, the two missiles were launched 20 seconds apart and both destroyed their flying targets.
The Interfax news agency said Russia’s rocket forces had trained National Guard forces on the S-300 anti-aircraft system and that the test firings had, according to military sources, been “a complete success”.
Meanwhile, Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktash was yesterday quoted as saying that the postponement of the arrival of the missiles meant the deal had in effect been cancelled. “The situation would have been much better if they (the Greek Cypriots) had been man enough to say outright that they had shelved the delivery of the missiles,” Denktash said.
