Cyprus “is only a target” because it hosts two British sovereign bases, former British prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Sunday.
“Given how much notice we had of these strikes, why was no ship moved to the Mediterranean to help protect our interests and allies? It is frankly embarrassing that the French appear to be doing more to protect Cyprus than we are, even though Cyprus is only a target because of our sovereign bases there,” he wrote in British newspaper The Times.
To this end, he accused the incumbent British government of lacking “strategic acumen”.
His reference to France comes with French President Emmanuel Macron set to visit Cyprus on Monday, accompanied by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with the French frigate Languedoc having arrived in Cypriot waters on Wednesday in response to the island’s British Akrotiri air force base having been hit by an Iranian-made drone last Monday.
Macron had also announced last week that the aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle will also be deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. It is believed that the aircraft carrier and its strike group passed through the Strait of Gibraltar on Friday.
Greece, meanwhile, deployed four F-16 fighter jets to the island last Monday, as well as two frigates, including the Kimon, which was described by Mitsotakis on Wednesday as the “pride of the Greek fleet”.
The UK has also sought to bolster its defence of its bases on the island since the drone strike, and has to this end sent two AW159 Wildcat helicopters, armed with anti-drone missiles, to Cyprus, while the HMS Dragon Type 45 destroyer warship also expected to depart from Portsmouth within the coming days.
More recently, on Sunday morning, the BBC reported that the UK is considering sending an aircraft carrier in the island’s direction, quoting “defence sources” as having said that the crew of the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been given notice that the ship must set sail from Portsmouth in five days.
In addition to military hardware, the UK also sent its Defence Secretary John Healey to the island. He held a meeting with his Cypriot counterpart Vasilis Palmas, before promising that “top experts” had arrived on the island “to help coordinate the air defences”.
In addition to France, Greece, and the UK, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Turkey have all also confirmed the deployment of military assets to Cyprus and its vicinity in the last week.
