Newsroom
French President Emmanuel Macron is scheduled to arrive in Cyprus on Monday for high-level talks with President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as European allies step up military support for the island following last week’s drone attack.
The meeting comes at a tense moment in the Eastern Mediterranean, with growing fears that the wider conflict in the Middle East could spill closer to Europe’s doorstep.
According to the French presidency, Macron’s visit is meant to show support for Cyprus as a European Union member state that recently came under attack. The three leaders are expected to discuss regional security and ways to prevent further escalation.
Reports from the French newspaper Le Monde say the leaders will meet in the coastal city of Paphos to focus on strengthening security around Cyprus and the wider Eastern Mediterranean.
At the same time, European naval forces are moving closer to the island.
France has already deployed its flagship aircraft carrier, the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle, to the Mediterranean. A French frigate also sailed toward Cyprus late last week as part of the show of support.
Other European countries are following suit. Spain is sending the Spanish frigate Cristóbal Colón, while Italy’s Italian frigate Federico Martinengo is also expected to arrive in waters near the island.
Officials say additional naval reinforcements from the Netherlands and Britain could reach the area in the coming hours.
The buildup shows how strategically important Cyprus has become as tensions across the Middle East intensify, placing the island, long seen as a bridge between Europe and the region, at the center of growing security concerns.
