NICOSIA (Reuters) -Cyprus has taken delivery of an Israeli air defence system, local media reported on Thursday, as the east Mediterranean island taps new markets to upgrade its defence capabilities after the loss of key supplier Russia.
TV station Sigma said the first deliveries were made on Tuesday. Cypriot officials declined to comment on the specifics of the report.
"The only thing I can say is we will, and are doing everything necessary to bolster the deterrence force of Cyprus, not only because we are a country under occupation, but an EU member state in a region of particular geo-strategic importance," Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides told reporters on Thursday.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion after a brief Greek inspired coup in 1974, with the internationally recognised government controlling the south, and a breakaway heavily militarised Turkish Cypriot state the north.
The Barak MX anti-aircraft system will complement and eventually replace the older Russian made Tor M1. Russia has been a leading supplier of military hardware to Cyprus for decades, but deals tapered off even before a blanket ban on exports in the wake of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Those sanctions have left Cyprus's existing defence systems short of spare parts and they cannot be upgraded, a senior Cypriot source told Reuters.
"That is why Cyprus is turning to other countries of the European Union, as well as Israel. As part of that, efforts are underway to upgrade our anti-aircraft umbrella," the source said.
Cypriot officials never openly disclose procurement programmes because of ongoing tensions with Turkey.
An attempt by Cyprus to upgrade its anti-aircraft umbrella in 1998 with surface to air S-300 missiles from Russia culminated in a military standoff with Turkey, and Nicosia hurriedly diverting the system to Crete.
That acquisition was not supported by either Britain or the U.S. at the time, though relations with Washington have improved markedly in recent years as geostrategically-positioned Cyprus has anchored its policies firmly to the west.
Christodoulides spoke by phone with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday. "(Christodoulides) underscored his intention to cooperate closely for the further strengthening of ties between the two countries," a spokesperson for the Cypriot president said.
(Reporting by Michele KambasEditing by Mark Potter and Toby Chopra)
