‘France’s long-term support for Cyprus will continue’

France’s long-term support for Cyprus will continue, Director of International Relations Directorate of the French Armed Forces, Vice-Admiral, Henri Schricke has assured, emphasising the importance of Cyprus’ support for French ships and aircraft.

Shcricke, who visited the headquarters of the National Guard General Staff on Thursday and had a meeting with the Chief of the National Guard Lieutenant General Ilias Leontaris also referred to areas of cooperation such as PESCO, cyber security and armament programmes.

According to a press release issued on Saturday by the National Guard General Staff, Leontaris welcomed Vice-Admiral Schricke to the island and informed him about the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and in the Cyprus EEZ.

In addition, he referred to the issue of the flow of immigrants and the growth in numbers of illegal immigrants in Cyprus.

Lastly, he referred to bilateral cooperation mainly through armament programmes, to trilateral cooperations as well as mutual participation in programs such as PESCO.

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.