Greek Cypriot administration to buy attack helicopters from Germany

BERLIN

The German government has approved the sale of a dozen attack helicopters to the Greek Cypriot administration, local media reported on Tuesday.

The parliament’s defense committee members were informed about the decision on Monday, according to the news magazine Der Spiegel.

The Greek Cypriot administration will purchase 12 H145M-type light attack helicopters, which can be used for combat operations, transport, or surveillance missions. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

The opposition Left Party slammed Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government for approving controversial weapons deals, stoking arms races, and fueling conflicts around the world.

“The only beneficiary of this policy is the German weapons industry,” the party said in a statement.

Cyprus issue

The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at annexing the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union (EU) in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.