Kyprianou slams Greece

By Athena Karsera

THE ROLE of Greece in Cyprus’ decision not to deploy the S-300 missiles has came under fire from Diko leader Spyros Kyprianou yesterday.

Speaking at a news conference yesterday in his role as Diko head, House president Spyros Kyprianou said that the Joint Defence Pact between Greece and Cyprus was now unrecognisable from the alliance originally hammered out in 1993 between President Glafcos Clerides and the then Greek Prime Minister, the late Andreas Papandreou.

Kyprianou said he was basing his opinion on what had emerged at the last National Council meeting to decide the fate of the missiles, namely that Greece had promised mere “retaliation” to any unprovoked Turkish attack on Cyprus.

“What does this mean?” Kyprianou said, adding that Greece had previously said such an attack would lead to all out war.

Kyprianou expressed concern over the consequences of a Turkish attack that would, for example, spark a retaliatory bombing of an airfield in the occupied areas. Using the scenario as an example, Kyprianou said this type of action would limit any military incident to the island and was more than likely to serve the interests of those who wanted a permanent division.

Without Greece’s full-blooded intervention, “how consequential would Cyprus’ defence be?” the Diko leader wondered.

It was, ironically, left to outgoing Defence Minister Yiannakis Omirou to defend Greece by criticising those who tried to blame Athens for the decision not to deploy the S-300 missiles.

Omirou, whose party, Edek, decided to withdraw from the government on Saturday following the decision on the missiles, said Athens had given assurances it would back any decision that Nicosia took on the missiles.

Omirou said “any attempt to shift responsibility solely on Athens is tantamount to burying one’s head in the sand.”

“The Greek government saw the issue of the missiles with reservation, but assured us that it would back any decision by the Cyprus government.”

Last week, Disy leader Nicos Anastassiades said Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos had warned Cyprus it would forego Athens’ support if it chose to bring the missiles against its better advice.

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.