The Cypriot Minister of Defence has said the aim of the arrival of American experts in Cyprus is to provide guidelines for improvement projects at the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos, so that it can be upgraded and serve more countries and missions.
Vasilis Palmas assured that the base will not become a staging ground for offensive missions by any state, especially the United States.
He said that it will be used for peacekeeping and humanitarian missions, for military training, for exercises, for the transport of personnel and soldiers, but also for docking ships, even warships, as well as submarines.
Palmas also referred to the upgrade that is expected to take place at the Evangelos Florakis naval base in Mari, but, as he said, a financier is currently being sought.
Regarding cooperation on three defense programs with the United States, he said that the most important thing is the appreciation that the United States shows for Cyprus, which they consider an ally.
Last month, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that the upgrade on the bases was part of the deepening of Cyprus’s defense capabilities.
He explained that during the implementation of the “Amaltheia” project, the Government identified the need to upgrade infrastructure, clarifying that this falls within the framework of the humanitarian role played by Cyprus in the region.
Letymbiotis rejected the criticism that Cyprus is turning into a base for Westerners, saying Cyprus emerged as a key humanitarian point in a turbulent and challenging region.
In a recent interview, President Christodoulides once again emphasized that both bases will be the bases of the Republic of Cyprus and that they have no intention of giving bases to anyone.