GREEK government spokesman Christos Protopapas said yesterday Athens had co-operated fully with Cyprus’ last-minute decision to call off the annual Nikiforos military exercise, following a decision by Greece and Turkey to call off their own annual manoeuvres last week.
President Tassos Papadopoulos cancelled the Nikiforos exercise on Thursday after Greek and Turkish Foreign Ministers decided to cancel their respective military exercises, Toxotis and Toros and Barbarossa.
This is the second year in a row Nikiforos has been cancelled. Last year it was called off as a gesture of goodwill in order not to raise tension during crucial peace talks.
After meeting President Papadopoulos yesterday morning, Protopapas, who arrived in Cyprus on Friday on a four-day visit, fended off criticism that Athens had acted ahead of Nicosia.
“There was very close co-operation and continuous contact,” he said. “We did not have carte blanche from the Cyprus government on the matter, but there was a definite framework we had both agreed on and within which we operated.”
Government spokesman Kypros Chrysostomides said contact between President Papadopoulos and Greek Foreign Minister George Papandreou was continuous on this matter, and pointed out that both countries made the announcement of the cancellation almost simultaneously.
Protopapas dismissed suggestions that the exercises had been cancelled following pressure from Washington and instead welcomed a US State Department statement in support of the mutual decision.
A Cyprus News Agency dispatch from Washington quoted US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher as saying the decision had been the result of mutual trust between Greece and Turkey.
“This is a good thing. We welcome the announcements by the Turkish, Greek and the Cypriot governments cancelling the annual Fall military exercises on Cyprus. We think the decision contributes to building a positive atmosphere for reaching a comprehensive Cyprus settlement and stability in the Aegean region,” Boucher said.
“We have always encouraged all the parties to forego these military exercises,” he added. “We see this as having come about because of the kind of mutual trust that’s been established between Turkey and Greece over the past few years, and the foreign ministers on both sides had a lot to do with that.”
The Defence Ministry and National Guard have already begun procedures that follow the calling off of Nikiforos, which according to Alithia newspaper yesterday will mean a budget surplus of £1,200,000 for the ministry. These funds may now be used to upgrade the National Guard, it said.
As happened last year, reservists called up to participate in the Nikiforos exercise will report to their units for a weapons check. They will then be given notice about the next exercise and dismissed.
