Mock dogfights as fighter jets square off on the way to Cyprus

GREEK AND Turkish fighter planes squared off near Cyprus yesterday as Turkish planes harassed Greek air force jets on their way to join the Nikiforos exercises on the island.

The Defence Ministry said there had been two incidents between Rhodes and Cyprus as two Greek F-16s and two A-7 Corsairs bombers were making their way to Cyprus.

“There was an attempt to intercept them by Turkish fighters between the two islands,” a ministry spokesman said.

One report said 12 Turkish aircraft had been headed off by an equal number of Greek jets.

The four planes continued on their way and carried out their role in the joint Nikiforos-Toxotis exercises, before heading straight back to base in Greece.

Two Corsairs were buzzed by Turkish jets on Thursday.

President Glafcos Clerides yesterday dismissed the incidents: “Provocations of the kind are useful to our army. They provide a good opportunity to exercise,” he told reporters.

Clerides said he was satisfied with the joint military exercise and said the National Guard was prepared to face any danger and threat, singling out the quality of the force’s new artillery systems.

Greek Defence Minister Akis Tzohatsopoulos was due in Cyprus later in the day to monitor the joint exercise. His plane was buzzed by Turkish fighters on its way to Cyprus two years ago.

The most important part of the exercise will take place today and tomorrow, the last day of the manoeuvres.

Earlier this week, Greek grounded its planes from a NATO exercise in the eastern Aegean after arguments with Turkey over flight patterns around disputed areas.

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.