Cyprus special forces staff and US Navy seals held joint scheduled training exercise between September 20–30, which culminated in a joint exercise on September 28, the ministry of defence said on Thursday.

The ministry said the aim of the joint training was to acquaint staff by interacting with the special operations.

The joint training is part of the bilateral defence programme between Cyprus and the US which contributes significantly to the increase of operational capacity of the National Guard’s special forces, the ministry said.

National Guard chief, Chief Lieutenant-General Demokritos Zervakis and commander of the Special Operations Command Europe, Air Force Major-General David H Tabor, who visited Cyprus, attended part of the joint training.

Zervakis described the joint training as beneficial.