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1st LD Writethru: Cyprus to sign controversial military agreement with Russia

Xinhua, February 25, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades flew to Moscow on Tuesday for an official visit during which he will sign a controversial defense cooperation agreement extending military facilities to Russia on the eastern Mediterranean island.

Anastasiades, trying to play down the agreement, has said that it will renew an old one which covered Russia's servicing of military equipment purchased by Cyprus.

However, Cypriot government officials have acknowledged that it will extent the scope of the defense cooperation by offering facilities to Russia, such as refueling and maintenance for its aircraft at an air base in the western part of the island and also port facilities for Russian ships.

Russia is the main supplier of arms to the small Cypriot National Guard.

These include attack helicopters and an anti-aircraft missile system.

Russia's ambassador to Cyprus, Stanislav Osadchiy, has said that Russia asked for additional military facilities on the island, including storage space at the southern port of Limassol.

Britain has voiced hardly veiled objections to Cyprus offering military facilities to Russia next to a British air base near Limassol, which is one of the most important airbases and electronic surveillance sites supporting NATO operation.

The Cypriot government retorted that these facilities would be no different to facilities extended to France, Germany and Britain itself "perhaps in abundance". Endit