Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas said on Monday morning that Cyprus, Greece and Israel have the same weapon system. He said this makes their defence systems interoperable and contributes significantly to security in the wider region.
The Achilles Shield agreement is bilateral, between Greece and Israel, Palmas said when asked whether Cyprus could join it. He was speaking after the ministry signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEBE).
The three countries have one thing in common, Palmas said: “they do not have good relations with Turkey“. He said Israel and Turkey are raising tensions with each other, which is recorded daily, while the reasons in Cyprus’s case are well known and Greece experiences what happens at sea and in the air every day.
Cyprus has a role to play, he said, because it can talk to all the region’s rival countries except Turkey. It is also the only European Union member state in the eastern Mediterranean. Palmas described Cyprus as a peaceful democracy that never gets involved in armed conflicts, but one under partial occupation, with an obligation to its citizens to ensure the maximum possible deterrence on the island.
The October 1 parade will be upgraded and different from previous ones, Palmas said, urging the public to attend because people would be happy with it. He gave the comment when asked whether new weapons systems would take part.
Palmas declined to comment on a Phileleftheros report about Egyptian grenades allegedly unfit for operational use and the injury of a soldier from the Greek Force in Cyprus (ELDYK). He said the report refers to an accident in 2024, when a grenade exploded during an ELDYK exercise. The matter is before the courts, he said, citing proceedings in Greece and the lawsuits that those injured have filed against the Greek state. Any further comment might create new circumstances around the proceedings, he said.
