By Andreas Bimbishis, Dora Christodoulou
French President Emmanuel Macron and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Cyprus on Monday for a trilateral summit with President Nikos Christodoulides, touring military installations in a display of European solidarity as the island faces heightened security pressures from the widening Middle East conflict.
Mitsotakis landed at Andreas Papandreou air base shortly before 1:00pm, where Christodoulides was waiting to receive him. The two men held a brief exchange before welcoming Macron, and the three leaders sat down for a trilateral meeting that concluded around 2:30pm.
They then visited the Search and Rescue Coordination Centre, where operators of Mistral anti-missile systems were stationed. Christodoulides and Mitsotakis subsequently inspected F-16 aircraft at Paphos air base before boarding the Greek frigate Kimon. Macron was later expected to visit the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, currently positioned in the eastern Mediterranean off Crete, according to French broadcaster BFM citing the Élysée.
“When Cyprus is attacked, Europe is attacked,” Macron said, adding that the Charles de Gaulle’s proximity to Cyprus would support defensive operations in the region.
He announced that two additional warships would be sent to the EU’s Operation Aspides in the Red Sea, led by Greece, and said French military presence would continue across the Mediterranean, the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea with eight frigates and the carrier.
“Our action must remain defensive and peaceful,” he said, adding that France’s goal was to stop Hezbollah from launching further attacks and to ensure Lebanon’s territorial integrity.
Christodoulides thanked the visiting leaders on behalf of the Cypriot people, also extending his gratitude to the peoples of Spain and Italy.
“The security of Cyprus means the security of Europe,” he said. “We are not involved in military operations. Our role is purely humanitarian. We know very well what war means. We are victims of occupation,” he added.
Mitsotakis said Cyprus would never stand alone and pledged that Greece and France would always stand by the island. “Every inch of European territory is inviolable,” he said.
“Our goal is exclusively defensive — far from any military entanglement. We will not tolerate any part of European territory being exposed to the slightest danger.” He also called for greater attention to Lebanon, warning that conflicts of this kind are often accompanied by population movements.
During his flight to Cyprus, Macron spoke by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who told him Israel was determined to continue military operations to disarm Hezbollah, according to French media reports.
Cyprus’s Foreign Minister Konstantinos Kombos, Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas and Government Spokesperson Konstantinos Letymbiotis were among the officials present at Andreas Papandreou air base to receive the visiting leaders.
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