Nicosia (AFP)
Nicosia has acquired four Israeli drones, according to the Cypriot Defense Ministry, amid tensions in the eastern Mediterranean with Turkey over gas drilling operations.
According to the information website "Kathimerini Cyprus", these drones, ordered in December 2018 for 12 million euros, should allow Nicosia to improve the surveillance of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), where international companies lead explorations in search of hydrocarbons.
These drones, delivered to the Cypriot army, the first of its kind according to Kathimerini, are among the best performing in their class, according to their Israeli manufacturer Aeronautics Group.
Contacted Monday by AFP, a spokesman for the Israeli company did not wish to confirm this delivery, arguing the company's confidentiality policy vis-à-vis its customers.
The discovery in recent years of gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean has whetted appetites, particularly from the Republic of Cyprus, which hopes to become a major player in energy.
But Turkey, whose army has occupied the northern third of the island since 1974, opposes any exploration and exploitation of these resources that would exclude that part of Cyprus, where the Turkish Cypriots live.
On Friday, the Cypriot authorities denounced a "serious escalation of violations" of its sovereign rights by Turkey.
According to Nicosia, Turkey has sent a new drill ship into its EEZ, and more specifically a block whose operating licenses have already been granted in September by the Republic of Cyprus to the French and Italian energy giants, Total and Eni.
In recent months, Ankara has sent a total of three drill ships off Cyprus despite warnings from Washington and the European Union, of which Nicosia is a member.
The EU adopted a series of political and financial measures in mid-July to punish the continuation of this drilling.
© 2019 AFP