The foreign ministry said on Saturday it has informed all diplomatic missions in Cyprus that the ‘Estia’ plan to repatriate third country nationals has been activated and the country is ready to help if there are requests to leave the Middle East via the island.

In their statement, the ministry said that it informed the diplomats of the plan on Friday, due to the ongoing situation in the Middle East.

According to a nobe verbale, the ministry said that all applications for the Estia plan can be made to the joint rescue coordination centre (JRCC).

On Friday night, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said that recent movement of ships and aircraft in Cyprus is part of the island’s humanitarian role in light of increased tension in the region.

The increased activity observed in recent days, involving the presence of ships and aircraft, “falls within the scope of Cyprus’ humanitarian responsibilities”.

“These efforts are aimed at supporting potential evacuations if necessary,” he said.

Letymbiotis also added that preparations for the activation of the ‘Estia’ plan, which would facilitate the evacuation of third-country nationals through Cyprus, are ongoing.

“This explains the current level of activity on the island,” he said, focusing on the humanitarian Estia plan rather than the fears of an escalating military presence on the island.

A protest was held on Friday night after a US assault ship – the US navy’s USS Wasp – docked in Limassol with opposition Akel slamming the government for consenting to the ship’s presence arguing it was throwing Cyprus in the midst of already escalating tensions.

“Our entire vicinity is threatened with an explosion of unimaginable and dramatic consequences. Against this backdrop, the continuing build-up of US military forces on our island, both inside and outside British bases, is heightening our risks and concerns,” Akel warned.

In its own statement, the defence ministry said the increased activity from “forces of friendly countries” that has been observed recently in Cyprus concerns the country’s humanitarian role exclusively.

This is in case Cyprus has to implement its ‘Estia’ plan and the possible evacuation of civilian nationals of third countries, from high-risk zones, the ministry added.

Earlier this week, the defence ministry issued a brief statement that Cypriot and US military forces would carry out training exercises in Nicosia’s flight information region (FIR).

Government sources clarified the British bases will have no part in this exercise.

In June, Hezbollah directly threatened Cyprus, saying it would consider the country “a part of the war” if it continued to allow Israel to use its airports and bases for military exercises.

In terms of the Estia plans deputy government spokesman Yiannis Antoniou has stressed that Cyprus was ready.

“In the event we are asked to assist other countries who may be moving their nationals from the crisis area home, we are in a position to host them for a few days until they are repatriated,” he said.

Antoniou told Reuters close to 10 countries had made inquiries about the scheme, but that there had been no specific formal request.

If a mass evacuation plan does transpire it would largely be by air, he said.

“We have the capacity, the infrastructure,” he said.

The hub of coordination will be the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in Larnaca, which operates around the clock with its primary role to coordinate, control and direct search and rescue operations.

Some tents had been erected in the compound on Thursday, with cots which would be used to process any arrivals, people on the site said.

Cyprus played a crucial role as an evacuation hub for about 30,000 people who left Lebanon during a flare-up in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.