President Nikos Christodoulides will visit on Tuesday the USS Indiana submarine which is in Limassol for a New Year port call.
US Ambassador to Cyprus, Julie Fisher, in a post on ‘X’ said she welcomes the officers and crew of the USS Indiana to Limassol.
The nuclear-powered submarine is in Cyprus for a liberty and New Year port call, she specified.
Fast-attack submarines are multi-mission platforms enabling five of the six Navy maritime strategy core capabilities – sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security and deterrence. They are designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship warfare, strike warfare, special operations, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare.
Fast-attack submarines project power ashore with special operations forces and Tomahawk cruise missiles in the prevention or response to regional crises.
“Named after the state of Indiana, its insignia honors Indiana’s racing heritage with the famous finish line racing flag,” the ambassador said.
Christodoulides is to visit the submarine on Tuesday afternoon.
Previously, the US navy’s amphibious landing dock ship the USS Oak Hill had stopped at Limassol’s port twice in the span of six weeks, while the US navy’s guided missile destroyer the USS The Sullivans docked in Larnaca earlier this month.
US amphibious assault ship, USS Wasp arrived in Limassol in August, sparking protests against US military presence on the island, which demonstrators argued were being used to “supply the state of Israel the means to commit genocide against the Palestinian people.”
The development had sparked a full out row between the government and opposition Akel, which accused the government of dragging Cyprus into the middle of extremely heightened tensions by consenting to the “continuing concentration of foreign military forces on our island.”
At the time, the government responded stressing that the recent movement of ships and aircraft in Cyprus is part of the island’s humanitarian role in light of developments in the region.
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