Syria and Hot Skies over Cyprus

By Chris Elliott

It seems the skies over Cyprus are becoming a hot issue with both Turkish and British jets making exploratory missions in the skies around Cyprus. So why did the RAF launch a mission to intercept unidentified aircraft flying towards the eastern coast of Cyprus?.

Sources report the British Defence Ministry stated that the Turkish aircrafts legally flew in the TRNC airspace which is an international airspace so that there was no need for their prevention.

If the air defence of the island is that important could it be that the safety risk of the Syrian crisis for Cyprus is so big that the British forces are justified to get agitated over potential aerial threats worth of interception? –

Apart from the danger  of incoming air strikes analysts point out that in all probability Syrian Scud missiles could technically easily target the British bases; but they find this to be a distant danger so the need for a state of alert on the British Bases can be understood.

Britain has said they will not take part in any strikes against Syria but they continue with intelligence gathering from their bases in Cyprus and this could perhaps be shared with the Americans which again creates increasing levels of friction.

So here we are watching and wondering what will happen next and in the meanwhile there are increasing demands in the UK to hold another vote in the commons if the Syrian situation worsens.

There is a very interesting article which reviews the general state of affairs in greater detail and this can be read by clicking on the link below.

http://www.balkaneu.com/cyprus-jittery-state-preparedness-syria/