The Turkish newspaper Milliyet expresses concern over the concentration of American troops in Cyprus and Greece in its main story, titled “In Front of Me, Behind Me, to My Right, to My Left, the USA.”
The newspaper reports that “while the U.S. increased the number of its bases in Greece during the Ukraine war, it has essentially established itself on the Greek Cypriot side amid Israel’s attacks on Gaza and Lebanon… The U.S. has opened a significant zone in both the Mediterranean and the Aegean.”
According to the newspaper, “the increase in American bases in the Aegean and the Mediterranean is particularly noteworthy. In fact, in the context of the relations between the Greek Cypriot administration and the U.S., which began with the lifting of the arms embargo during Donald Trump’s first term and expanded with the military cooperation agreement under President Joe Biden, the build-up of American forces on the island continues unabated.”
Milliyet also mentions that “satellite images published in Greek Cypriot media show the presence of C-130 transport aircraft, CH-47 Chinook helicopters, and Bell UH-1 helicopters at Larnaca Airport, as well as V-22 transport aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing at the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos.”
The newspaper further cites reports from Cyprus suggesting that American military equipment was used to construct a helicopter base adjacent to the Evangelos Florakis Naval Base in Mari, “a former Turkish village.” It also notes that large ships cannot currently dock at this port, “prompting the Greek Cypriots to decide on an expansion of the port.”
Source: CNA/AA/GVA
