US military base under construction in Cyprus, suggests report
Jordanian army members participate in a hostage rescue drill during a Black Hawk helicopters handover ceremony to Jordan from the U.S. government, at a Jordanian military base near the town of Zarqa, Jordan, January 28, 2018. (Reuters Photo)
Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (SCGA) Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas stated that the construction of a helicopter base near Larnaca is underway, but he could not provide details, according to reports in the Greek Cypriot press.
In an interview with Politis Newspaper, Palmas did not give information about who will use the base under construction.
The SCGA media reported the base will be given to the use of the U.S. and that the U.S. military will deploy “Chinook” type helicopters here to be used in transportation and logistics.
In the news, it was claimed that the SCGA, which currently has about six military helicopters in its inventory, does not need a helicopter base and that Southern Cyprus and the U.S. have reached an agreement on the helicopter base in Larnaca in the “Strategic Cooperation” agreement they signed.
On the other hand, the Pentagon did not respond to the Anadolu Agency (AA) correspondent’s question on the issue.
Greek Cypriot officials preferred to remain silent on the news that the U.S. used a secret military base on the island between 2013-2017 and deployed helicopters here, while the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia responded “No comment” to journalists who asked about this issue.
Last November, the U.S. announced that a helicopter crashed in the Eastern Mediterranean and five special forces soldiers lost their lives in the accident.
After it was determined that the helicopter crashed 30 miles off (48.2 kilometers) the coast of Cyprus, discussions about the U.S. having a secret helicopter base in the SCGA were reignited.
