By Martin Hellicar
SPYROS Kyprianou stayed away, but the rest of the country’s political leadership moved closer to consensus on defence spending after an extraordinary top-level meeting yesterday.
President Clerides scheduled the conference at the request of the House defence committee, after it became clear last month that the S-300 missiles ‘experience’ was threatening to block unanimous approval of government defence spending plans for the first time ever.
After the meeting, defence committee chairman Takis Hadjidemetriou said parties had agreed to try to iron out their differences in defence issues. But the Edek man also made it clear question marks over defence spending remained, particularly relating to the S-300 fiasco.
“I believe experiences of the past are useful for taking decisions that could have a sounder basis in future. Therefore, the tragic experience of the S-300s will, I believe, have the effect of preventing similar eventualities,” he said.
Many opposition party deputies are apparently concerned that any attempts to buy advanced weapons systems, such as missiles and attack helicopters, would be as ill-fated as the order for S-300 missiles.
On December 29, after months of pressure from the UN, US and EU, Clerides was forced to redirect the £200 million Russian-made ground-to-air missiles to Crete. Turkey’s threats to destroy the S-300s if they arrived in Cyprus prompted fears in the West that their deployment could spark a Greco- Turkish war.
The government is reported to be ready to buy Italian-made Aspide missiles after securing a huge 40 per cent discount on the sale price. It is understood that the 1999 defence budget also provided for the purchase of attack helicopters and missile boats.
Seeking to placate opposition misgivings and smooth passage of the budget, Clerides called party leaders, House defence committee members, Defence Minister Yiannakis Chrysostomis and National Guard chief Demetris Demou to the Presidential Palace yesterday. On the agenda was an in-depth briefing and discussion of defence spending policy.
Diko leader Kyprianou boycotted the conference in protest at what he sees as a government failure to fully inform parties on defence issues. The opposition leader, an outspoken Clerides critic, is also threatening to stay away from National Council meetings – complaining that he is never properly consulted on national issues, but rather called to carry out ‘post- mortems’ on Clerides blunders.
Diko deputy Marios Matsakis, who attended the meeting as a member of the defence committee, labelled Kyprianou’s boycott “irrational”.
Edek leader Vassos Lyssarides and United Democrats leader George Vassiliou were also absent from the powwow, being abroad.
Government spokesman Costas Serezis rejected suggestions the absentees made the meeting obsolete. If it was deemed necessary, he said, another conference could be called.
The defence budget is now expected to go before the House plenum for approval within the next few weeks.
