Greek planes will take part in Nikiforos

By Charlie Charalambous

GREEK air and land forces will take part in National Guard war games codenamed Nikiforos, it was announced by the National Guard yesterday.

Confirmation that Greek fighter jets and navy vessels would take part in next week’s six-day manoeuvres starting on Tuesday was announced by National Guard brigadier-general Panayiotis Tatsiopoulos at a press conference in Nicosia yesterday.

“Special units, including Greek fighter jets, will participate at the same level as last year,” Tatsiopoulos said.

The brigadier-general did not rule out the possibility that Greek jets would use the recently constructed Paphos air base.

“There is a possibility that Greek jets taking part could use the air base.”

The last time Greek jets flew over Cyprus, earlier this year, tensions rose on the island as Turkish war planes violated Cyprus air space in tit-for- tat manoeuvres.

The involvement of Greek fighter planes in next week’s war games is likely further to raise tensions, which have intensified since the government announced plans to purchase Russian S-300 missiles in January 1997.

Although it is understood the missile deployment has again been delayed until November at the earliest, the government says there is no question of cancellation.

“The president has confirmed to us that the missiles will come, and it’s not right to talk about a cancellation. This will only apply if there is a move towards demilitarisation,” said European Democratic party leader Alexis Galanos after meeting President Clerides yesterday.

However, Tatsiopoulos did confirm that Greek war planes would take part in the end-of-exercise parade next Sunday.

He said Nikiforos would enable the National Guard better to co-ordinate with Greek military exercises codenamed Toxotis as part of the joint defence pact with Greece.

Backing up the thousands of conscripts and reservists taking part in the exercises will be the army’s newest hardware acquisitions, including new generation Russian T-80 main battle tanks and Russian BMP3 armoured personnel vehicles.

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.