Greek Cypriots buy 4 drones from Israel

ANKARA-Anadolu Agency

Greek Cypriot administration has purchased four drones from Israel to monitor the land and sea, according to local media.

Greek Cypriot news outlet Kathimerini Cyprus reported on Oct. 3 that the drones were purchased for €12 million.

The drones bought from Israeli company Aeronautics will reportedly allow Greek Cypriot agencies to obtain clear views from high above over land and water.

Use of the drones would reportedly include monitoring the disputed Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Greek Cypriots.

The Greek Cypriots unilaterally declared a total of 13 so-called parcels in the Eastern Mediterranean as its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and allowed international oil and drilling companies to operate in these areas, which are expected to hold rich hydrocarbon reserves.

However, the majority of these parcels clash with the EEZ declared by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), with the Greek Cypriot administration ignoring the fundamental rights of the TRNC to a share of the island’s resources.

Greek Cypriots also bought 24 new artillery systems from Serbia in the summer, which appeared before public for the first time in a military parade last week.

In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus’ annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the TRNC was founded.

The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the Cyprus dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one, held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece and the U.K. -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland.