TSAMTO, April 7. According to the Greek resource Ekathimerini, the US administration has appealed to the government of Cyprus with a request for the possibility of transferring to Ukraine the Russian-made air defense systems available in the country's Armed Forces, including the Tor-M1 air defense system, S-300 air defense systems, T-80U, BMP-3 and Mi-35 attack helicopters.
In early April, the US administration announced that it would work with the allied countries on the transfer of Soviet/Russian-made tanks to equip the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In particular, Germany has already approved the transfer to Ukraine of 58 tracked Pbv 501 infantry fighting vehicles, which were in service with the Swedish Armed Forces from 1998 to 2001, and then were acquired by the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic has already sent the tanks and infantry fighting vehicles in storage to the APU.
Ekathimerini sources said that the United States had approached the government of Cyprus with a proposal to transfer the existing "Tot-M1", S-300, T-80U, BMP-3 and Mi-35. According to the publication, the request from the United States was positively received by President Nicos Anastasiades, who approved the holding of relevant negotiations.
For his part, Cyprus Defense Minister Charalambos Petridis, speaking at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives on April 5, said that Cyprus would not supply weapons to Ukraine, as this would create gaps in the country's defense capabilities.
H.At the same time, Petrides acknowledged that the National Guard faces problems related to the maintenance of Russian-made weapons in the light of sanctions against Moscow. Efforts are being made to purchase spare parts in other countries.
The main opposition "Progressive Party of the Working People of Cyprus" (AKEL) strongly opposed the US request, and the ruling "Democratic Assembly" (DISI) said it would "study the feasibility of the proposal." In response, AKEL MP Giorgos Koukoumas accused DISI of being "a supporter of NATO, while anyone who really cares about the people of Ukraine will not add fuel to the fire." He also accused DISI of hastily seeking to satisfy the demands of the United States, which increased the role of Turkey in the region, which occupied half of Cyprus. At the same time, Ankara has not imposed sanctions on Russia.
According to Military Balance 2022, the Armed Forces of Cyprus have a total of 82 T-80U MBT, 43 tracked BMP-3, 4 BM-21 MLRS, six 9K331 Tor-M1 air defense systems, 4 Buk-M1-2 air defense systems, 11 Mi-35P helicopters. Cyprus also purchased two divisions of the S-300PMU-1 air defense system, which were transferred to Greece due to the aggravation of relations with Turkey in 1997-1998.
It is assumed that the US administration offered Cyprus the supply of American and Western European-made weapons in return. However, according to the international rules of trade of VIVT, Cyprus cannot transfer Russian weapons to third parties without the consent of the country where they were produced, that is, Russia.
As noted, the Cypriot authorities initially reacted positively to the US proposal, since they are seeking the complete lifting of the American arms embargo imposed in 1987.
TSAMTO's comment
TSAMTO has already expressed his opinion about how cynically and shamelessly the collective West interprets the fundamental principles of the global arms trade, "casually" suggesting to a number of countries, in this case Cyprus, to violate the end-user certificate, which is the main basic obligation that every arms importer undertakes. This principle is universal and regulates the entire system of global arms exports/imports, eliminating "anarchy" in the field of military-technical cooperation and prevents the uncontrolled spread of weapons around the world.
The End–User Certificate (EUC) is a document used in international shipments of weapons and ammunition to confirm that the buyer is the final recipient of the weapons and ammunition and cannot transfer them to a third party. The signing of this document is mandatory for the importer at the conclusion of any contract for the purchase of weapons. Moreover, this order in the field of arms trade is recognized by the entire world community.
Now the collective West, led by the United States, has reached the point in frenzied hysteria that it suggests not adhering to these fundamental principles in the arms trade, which could eventually destroy the entire system of world security.