‘No evidence’ of missiles sent to Israel via Cyprus (Updated)

There is “no evidence” of missiles being shipped from Qatar to Israel via Cyprus, presidential press office director Victor Papadopoulos said on Friday.

Speaking on CyBC radio, he said “no relevant request” was submitted for the transfer of weapons, and no permission was given on the part of the government.

Asked regarding the possibility that the missiles may have been sent by the British bases, he pleaded ignorance.

However, he repeated that the Cypriot government had not been informed when the United Kingdom scrambled warplanes from Akrotiri to intercept missiles fired at Israel from Iran in the early hours of Sunday morning.

He added that Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos had contacted his British counterpart David Cameron after British involvement in the operation had been reported in the media, and only then did the British government confirm anything to Cyprus.

Later on Friday, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Cyprus stands by the position of the European Council, that “any actions which lead to an escalation of the situation must be avoided.”

He added that actions should be taken to de-escalate the situation in the region, and that “Cyprus, to the extent possible, can play a role.

“We are trying to contribute towards a de-escalation of the crisis in the region,” he said.

Israeli media had reported on Thursday that Cyprus served as a transit for US missiles delivered to Israel as the country prepared its defences for the coming Iranian barrage last weekend.

A report broadcast by Israeli state-owned television channel Kan 11 said US-provided missiles were transported from “somewhere in Cyprus” to their final destination in Israel, the Nevatim airbase in the Negev desert.

The airbase was one of the facilities struck by Iran in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The same Israeli report said Cyprus was chosen as the transit to spare Qatar’s political leadership the embarrassment of appearing to directly assist Israel. Qatar and Israel have no diplomatic relations.

Cyprus has already found itself linked to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, with the United Kingdom having been using its Akrotiri base on the island to bomb Yemen in January and February.

Following the second round of bombing raids on Yemen launched from Cyprus in February, the Iranian foreign ministry described the actions as “a flagrant violation of international law by the United States and Britain.”

It added that a continuation of such attacks would be a “worrying threat to international peace and security.”

At the time, Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis had said the government is “in constant communication with the UK within the framework established in relation to the bases’ use.”

Nikos Christodoulides was keen to stress on Sunday that “our country proves in practice that it is not involved in any way in the escalation.”

“We do not think that we solve problems with attacks,” he added, going on to say that the day’s National Security Council meeting had reviewed the situation, and that the government was remaining “vigilant” and monitoring the situation.