By Andreas Bimbishis, Dora Christodoulou
French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Cyprus on Monday in a show of European solidarity, touring military installations alongside President Nikos Christodoulides as the island faces heightened security pressures from the widening Middle East conflict.
The three leaders visited the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, where operators of Mistral anti-missile systems were stationed, before Christodoulides and Mitsotakis proceeded to the Greek frigate Kimon and inspected F-16 aircraft at Paphos air base.
Macron was later expected to visit the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, currently positioned in the eastern Mediterranean off Crete, according to French broadcaster BFM citing the Élysée.
“When Cyprus is attacked, Europe is attacked,” Macron said, pledging that French military presence would continue across the Mediterranean, the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, with eight frigates and the carrier deployed in the region.
He announced that two additional warships would be sent to the EU’s Operation Aspides in the Red Sea, which is led by Greece.
Christodoulides thanked the visiting leaders and the people of Greece, France, Italy and Spain for what he called a demonstration of European solidarity.
“The security of Cyprus means the security of Europe,” he said, adding that Cyprus was not involved in military operations. “Our role is purely humanitarian. We know very well what war means. We are victims of occupation,” he said.
Mitsotakis said Cyprus would never stand alone. “We are sending a resounding message of unity, resolve and solidarity,” he said.
Macron said the goal was to stop Hezbollah from launching further attacks and to ensure Lebanon’s territorial integrity. During his flight to Cyprus, he spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told him Israel was determined to continue military operations to disarm Hezbollah, according to French media reports.
Cyprus’s Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas and Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis were among the officials present at Andreas Papandreou air base to receive the visiting leaders.
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