Greek Cypriot administration says it may consider sending weapons to Ukraine

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) – The Greek Cypriot administration could consider sending weapons from its own arsenal to Ukraine, local media reported on Thursday.

However, the arms will be sent on the condition that its military stocks are replenished, said Greek Cypriot administration spokesman Marios Pelekanos.

As of now, no concrete proposal or consultation has yet taken place, daily Cyprus Mail cited him as saying.

Referring to the recent decision by Washington to lift the decades-old arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration, Pelekanos underscored that the US is now one of the options for them when it comes to purchasing weapons.

In a recent response to these remarks, Georgios Koukoumas, spokesman of the communist AKEL party, said they oppose sending military aid to Ukraine.

Koukoumas, who represents one of the largest parties in the Greek Cypriot administration, said direct involvement in the war will have consequences.

“The pressure from the US and the EU on European states to send military weapons to Ukraine, instead of opting for diplomatic initiatives by the UN and the EU for a cease-fire, peace and a return to dialogue, is tantamount to adding fuel to the fire of a war which is now taking nightmarish directions for humanity,” he said.

On Sept. 30, the US announced that under the Defense Department National Guard’s State Partnership Program, the Greek Cypriot administration has been paired with the National Guard in the US state of New Jersey.

With the move, Washington, which on Sept. 16 lifted an arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration that had been in force since 1987, continues its provocative attitude towards the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and Türkiye.