Nikiforos cancelled after decision by Greece and Turkey

THE GOVERNMENT has cancelled military exercises scheduled for October after an agreement brokered by Greece and Turkey to suspend their own military manoeuvres, they said yesterday.

This is the third year in a row the exercises have been cancelled.

“Exercises are part of the defence process and I do not think cancelling one impairs the defence capabilities of the country,” said Government Spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides. The Greek Cypriot Nikiforos exercise had been planned for October 19 to 25.

But foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey decided on Monday to cancel manoeuvres they had planned in the region for October.

Military authorities have considerably scaled down war games in recent years, following an improvement in relations between Greece and Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul, who is currently in New York to attend the 59th session of the United Nations General Assembly, met his Greek counterpart Petros Molyviatis late on Monday.

Following the meeting, Gul told reporters that the concerted military manoeuvres in the Mediterranean were cancelled under a reciprocal compromise between Turkey and Greece.
Opposing sides in Cyprus normally follow suit because of their reliance and close links to the military in their respective motherlands.

“As you know, Turkey and Greece did not perform some of the concerted military manoeuvres in the Mediterranean in recent years under a bilateral agreement. Last year, Turkey did not carry out its manoeuvres called Barbaros and Toros, and Greece did not perform its Toxitis and Nikoforos manoeuvres. We agreed to cancel this year’s military manoeuvres as well, in line with our determination to further improve the good neighbourly relations and the existing climate of confidence,” he said.

He added that they also decided to speed up the exploratory talks over confidence-building measures in the Aegean.

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