Cyprus has taken delivery of an Israeli air defence system, local media reported on Thursday, as the east Mediterranean island taps new markets to upgrade its defence capabilities after the loss of key supplier Russia.
Cyprus has taken delivery of an Israeli air defence system, local media reported on Thursday, as the east Mediterranean island taps new markets to upgrade its defence capabilities after the loss of key supplier Russia.
TV station Sigma said the first deliveries were made on Tuesday. Cypriot officials declined to comment on the specifics of the report.
"The only thing I can say is we will, and are doing everything necessary to bolster the deterrence force of Cyprus, not only because we are a country under occupation, but an EU member state in a region of particular geo-strategic importance," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters on Thursday.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974, with the internationally recognised government controlling the south, and a breakaway heavily militarised Turkish Cypriot state the north.
The Barak MX anti-aircraft system will complement and eventually replace the older Russian made Tor M1. Russia has been a leading supplier of military hardware to Cyprus for decades, but deals tapered off even before a blanket ban on exports in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Those sanctions have left Cyprus's existing defence systems short of spare parts and they cannot be upgraded, a senior Cypriot source told Reuters.
"That is why Cyprus is turning to other countries of the European Union, as well as Israel. As part of that, efforts are underway to upgrade our anti-aircraft umbrella," the source said.
Cypriot officials never openly disclose procurement programmes because of ongoing tensions with Turkey.
An attempt by Cyprus to upgrade its anti-aircraft umbrella in 1998 with surface to air S-300 missiles from Russia culminated in a military standoff with Turkey, and Nicosia hurriedly diverting the system to Crete.
That acquisition was not supported by either Britain or the U.S. at the time, though relations with Washington have improved markedly in recent years as Cyprus has anchored its policy firmly to the west.
Ukraine is pushing European allies to agree next month on a proposed $163-billion loan backed by frozen Russian state assets to avert a major 2026 bud...
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 19th of November, covering the latest developments you need to...
An Indonesian student suspected of carrying out a bomb attack at his school mosque in Jakarta wrote of feeling isolated in his 42-page diary and drew ...
The Turkish-operated cargo plane that skidded off the runway at Hong Kong's international airport last month (20 October), killing two airport workers...
Two top U.S. Army officials have made a rare wartime visit to Kyiv by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, arriving on an unannounced trip fo...
Two earthquakes centered in Cyprus on Wednesday were felt across northern and central regions of Israel, raising concerns among residents in both countries. The first tremor occurred at 11:31 a.m., with the epicenter near Paphos, Cyprus, at a depth of 21 kilometers.
Wildfires have erupted across Cyprus as the island endures its hottest day of the year, prompting the evacuation of multiple villages and raising urgent alarms about climate change in the Mediterranean.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced on Thursday that the latest discussions on Cyprus were "constructive" and that progress had been made on several initiatives.
President Ersin Tatar of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus said formal negotiations on the island’s future will not resume unless Turkish Cypriots’ sovereign equality and international status are recognised.
Thousands of users in the United States, some parts of Europe and South America on the X (formerly twitter) platform have reported being unable to access the site due to Cloudflare outage.
Emirates Airline is confident in Boeing’s plans for a larger 777X and has ruled out ordering Airbus’s A350-1000 at the Dubai Airshow.
Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler stated on Monday that it would take at least two months to reach initial conclusions and analyse the black box of a Turkish cargo plane that crashed in Georgia last week, resulting in the deaths of 20 soldiers.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Tuesday talked up "high-level exchanges" in a call with Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi, hinting at a potential meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Japan's new premier, Sanae Takaichi.
The Kremlin stated on Monday that it hoped another summit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump could take place once the necessary preparations had been completed.
Ukraine is pushing European allies to agree next month on a proposed $163-billion loan backed by frozen Russian state assets to avert a major 2026 budget shortfall, Reuters reported.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 19th of November, covering the latest developments you need to know.
An Indonesian student suspected of carrying out a bomb attack at his school mosque in Jakarta wrote of feeling isolated in his 42-page diary and drew inspiration from a Telegram group glorifying white supremacist attacks, according to new details from police.
The Turkish-operated cargo plane that skidded off the runway at Hong Kong's international airport last month (20 October), killing two airport workers, experienced an acceleration in one of its four engines after landing, an initial investigation has found.
Two top U.S. Army officials have made a rare wartime visit to Kyiv by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration, arriving on an unannounced trip for talks with Ukraine's leaders in an attempt to revive stalled peace talks with Russia, Politico reported on Wednesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment