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US taxpayer money is being funneled into upgrading key military bases in Cyprus in a move that strengthens the island’s growing role as a safe haven and humanitarian hub in the eastern Mediterranean. The funding will go toward expanding facilities at the Evangelos Florakis naval base and the Andreas Papandreou air base, allowing Cyprus to handle large-scale evacuations and emergency operations from nearby conflict zones.
According to AP News, the upgrades are part of a broader push to position Cyprus as a reliable staging ground for humanitarian missions, building on its recent use as a transit point during crises in Sudan, Israel and Gaza. The report highlights how closer ties with Washington have made such cooperation possible, marking a significant shift from Cyprus’ traditionally non-aligned foreign policy.
Officials insist the focus remains strictly humanitarian. President Nikos Christodoulides has stressed that the facilities will support evacuations, aid deliveries and regional coordination efforts, not offensive military action, as Cyprus continues to market itself as a “safe harbor” in a volatile region.
Cyprus’ elite naval commandos, known as frogmen, train during an exercise at the Evangelos Florakis naval base in Mari, Cyprus, on April 17. [Petros Karadjias/AP]
A Cypriot Air Force helicopter enters a compound to park at an air base in Paphos, Cyprus, on April 17. [Petros Karadjias/AP]
