- 5 months ago
Кипр – форпост Европы на фоне конфликта на Ближнем Востоке
Первого марта дрон Shahed иранского производства, запущенный из Ливана, ударил по британской авиабазе Акротири на Кипре, неожиданно приблизив войну на Ближнем Востоке к Европе. В этом материале о том, как внешнеполитическая напряженность меняет ближайшую к конфликту границу Европейского союза.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/04/24/kipr-forpost-evropy-na-fone-konflikta-na-blizhnem-vostoke
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
Первого марта дрон Shahed иранского производства, запущенный из Ливана, ударил по британской авиабазе Акротири на Кипре, неожиданно приблизив войну на Ближнем Востоке к Европе. В этом материале о том, как внешнеполитическая напряженность меняет ближайшую к конфликту границу Европейского союза.
ЧИТАТЬ ДАЛЕЕ : http://ru.euronews.com/2026/04/24/kipr-forpost-evropy-na-fone-konflikta-na-blizhnem-vostoke
Подписывайтесь: Euronews можно смотреть на Dailymotion на 12 языках
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00:01Субтитры создавал DimaTorzok
00:30Субтитры создавал DimaTorzok
01:03The two British bases in Cyprus are more than lines on a map.
01:07These sovereign British bases are not only surrounded by protected wild landscapes,
01:13but also by villages where residents have grown used to the constant roar of jets,
01:18international patrols and the reality of living on the edge of a volatile region.
01:24The island's position is crucial.
01:27Around 100 kilometres from Syria, 180 from Lebanon and just over 200 kilometres from Israel.
01:35Iran is 1,000 kilometres away.
01:38I'm entering the British sovereign base area of Akrotiri.
01:42What you have to know is that the British sovereign territory is far bigger than the perimeter of the base
01:48itself,
01:49stretching across nine communities, home to around 40,000 people.
01:56Akrotiri is the main village right next to the base and with a strong connection to it.
02:02About a third of its residents work there, explained the deputy mayor.
02:06This is the geographical area and here is the Akrotiri.
02:13Here are approximately 1.240 people.
02:18Three hours after the night after the night I heard a wave, I heard siren, I tried to speak with
02:25the citizens of the democracy.
02:39The evacuation order was given the following day and lasted for 10 days.
02:44Around 1,000 people were evacuated.
02:47They were mainly taken in by relatives, with some housed in a nearby monastery and in hotels.
03:01I don't know if I am ready to answer this,
03:07but I believe that with the amyndicaments that are around us,
03:12it is very difficult to escape from other places.
03:17Cyprus, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union,
03:23is not a NATO member and relies on allies for its defence.
03:27The UK has allowed the US to use its bases in the country for defensive operations.
03:33After the drone attack, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands deployed naval assets.
03:39Greece also sent military support.
03:43A month later, when I visited, the drone attack seemed almost forgotten.
03:48There were no warships in sight and fewer warplanes in the sky.
03:53The war in the Middle East and the drone attack became something people don't want to talk about.
04:09What officials call an isolated incident revealed some deficiencies.
04:15As the mayor of Curion explains, the Republic of Cyprus has no authority to evacuate
04:20or take any civil safety measures in almost 60% of his municipality, including Akrotiri,
04:28as it's part of the sovereign base areas administered by Britain.
04:32I believe what the attack showed was that nobody was ready,
04:37especially the sovereign bases.
04:40There are no contingency plans and evacuation plans in the SBA.
04:44What is the general feeling about these bases?
04:48We believe that things should start to change
04:54and actually get a clear sense on whose authorities to do what,
05:00especially with regards to the civil defence issue.
05:06I'm the only mayor in Cyprus that has to deal with two different legislations
05:10and basically two different governments.
05:13But the attack also exposed a deeper controversy.
05:16Would you say these British bases are a threat?
05:21After the incident last month, people are starting to change their mind
05:28and feeling that having a base right next to us
05:33and getting that gets involved so much in the Middle East crisis
05:39that's happening over and over again,
05:41it's becoming a threat to the country.
05:45The two British bases of Akrotiri and Ekelia cover around 200 square kilometres,
05:52about 3% of Cyprus' territory.
05:55They were retained when Cyprus gained independence from Britain in 1960.
06:01The right-wing Cypriot government has raised questions about the future of the bases
06:06after the drone strike,
06:08with the issue remaining a long-standing source of political friction.
06:12Actress, TV presenter and activist Melanie Stelio is among public figures
06:17who see the British bases as a legacy of colonialism.
06:21She is speaking out ahead of the May parliamentary elections
06:25where she is a candidate for the left-wing Akel alliance.
06:29Over 56% of the population of Cyprus don't want the bases to be here anymore.
06:35We're not sending our soldiers there,
06:37but we're giving Cyprus as a permanent aircraft carrier
06:41for the United States of America and any other power that wants to use us,
06:46including the bases, including RAF Akrotiri.
06:50We're enabling them, we're giving them our facilities to bomb other countries.
06:56So how is that exactly creating peace?
07:00The Cypriot ministers of defence and foreign affairs declined,
07:04my request to comment on the future of the bases and on key geopolitical issues.
07:09The focus instead appears to be on reassurance,
07:13with the economy, especially tourism, as a priority.
07:17This key sector, which accounts for around 12% of GDP,
07:22is very vulnerable to external shocks like conflict.
07:25Industry leaders say the response to the drone attack was excessive.
07:31Unjustly so, has been created a big noise out of the incident.
07:40It has been augmented as a newsworthy event, which was not so.
07:46It was one remote incident.
07:48And there was an overreaction from all over the world
07:51that Cyprus is in a war zone,
07:54which, as you can see yourself,
07:57Cyprus remains a very peaceful, safe and friendly destination.
08:02There are also several countries that have issued heightened warnings for visiting Cyprus.
08:10We found them overreacting and unjust.
08:15Are they overreacting or are we minimising?
08:19Cyprus is open and safe,
08:22no matter if the war continues.
08:26US and Israeli first strikes on Iran on February 28th,
08:30hit just as the tourism season in Cyprus was reopening after winter
08:34and hotel bookings fell by nearly 40% in March.
08:39Cyprus's Deputy Minister of Tourism says the impact
08:42will ultimately depend on how long the conflict lasts.
08:46If the conflict ends tomorrow,
08:49I believe that at the end of the day,
08:51we're going to have a very similar performance
08:53to the performance of the year before.
08:55If the conflict ends at the end of the year, for example,
09:00definitely we will observe a reduction
09:02in the total number of tourist arrivals,
09:04but that will take place for every single country in the Mediterranean zone,
09:10especially for those located in the Eastern Mediterranean.
09:13Cyprus is not part of the conflict,
09:16but it's very close to an unpredictable war.
09:20I disagree with you.
09:22We are not so close.
09:22We are just belonging on the map.
09:27Definitely we are thousands of kilometers away from the conflict zone.
09:31We are not part of the problem.
09:33So, Cyprus was always acting as a pillar of peace and stability
09:39in the area of Eastern Mediterranean.
09:42But is the Middle East war altering the balance on the island?
09:46Divided since Turkey's 1974 invasion triggered by a Greek-backed coup pushing for union with Greece,
09:55the island remains split between the internationally recognized EU member Republic of Cyprus in the south
10:01and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,
10:05recognized only by Turkey.
10:07A 180-kilometer-long UN buffer zone, the Green Line separates the two.
10:15Nicosia is considered the last divided capital in the world with the Lederer Street checkpoint cutting through its center.
10:32Northern Cyprus is politically dependent on Turkey, a key player in the Middle East crisis.
10:38After EU countries deployed military assets in the south,
10:42Ankara responded by sending F-16 fighter jets to the north, sparking controversy.
10:49I raised this issue with the self-declared Turkish Cypriot administration.
10:54Under the gaze of Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey,
10:57I sat down with a hard-line nationalist foreign minister.
11:01Even his title doesn't officially exist,
11:03and it felt like stepping into a 3D history book.
11:08Why did you receive these several F-16?
11:11To show to the world and to the Greek Cypriots
11:14that Turkish Cypriots enjoy the support and security of the motherland, Turkey.
11:18We are not going to allow the balance,
11:22the military balance established on the island since 1974 to be changed.
11:26If the Greek Cypriots do anything to upset this military balance on the island,
11:32then it is our right and Turkey's right to make sure that this balance is restored.
11:39Around the 40,000 Turkish troops are stationed in northern Cyprus.
11:44The Greek Cypriot side wants them withdrawn,
11:47but the Turkish Cypriot side insists they guarantee protection
11:50until a peace settlement is reached.
11:52Former negotiations have been stalled since 2017.
11:58So is this conflict widening the gap between the north and the south?
12:04Obviously, the Turkish Cypriot people,
12:06they are becoming more aware
12:09that there is no well-meaning policies of the Greek Cypriots
12:13that respect Turkish Cypriot rights,
12:17Turkish Cypriot entity, Turkish Cypriot sovereignty.
12:23Nationalists still hold a majority in the so-called parliament,
12:26but their views are losing consensus,
12:29and a left-wing opposition leader won the October 2025 presidential election.
12:35Even so, analysts say the current regional crisis
12:39could make reunification less likely anytime soon.
12:45The most obvious outcome would be a deepening of the separation
12:50because people will become entrenched in their own sides.
12:54So it's unlikely that people would leap to the other side
13:01as a result of the conflict
13:02unless there was something pushing them there.
13:04So unless the UN steps in and says,
13:07OK, helping to solve the Cyprus conflict
13:10could help us solve other regional issues,
13:13but I have a feeling that the United Nations
13:16is rather distracted at the moment
13:17and probably is not going to be interested enough
13:21to take up that opportunity.
13:24Besides the military build-up and geopolitics,
13:27the island is also shaped by communities that fled conflicts.
13:31Many Israelis and Lebanese have relocated here
13:34in search of peace and stability.
13:36In Limassol, I met an Israeli-Jewish restaurant owner.
13:40He arrived in 2022 fleeing violence
13:43one year before the Hamas terrorist attacks,
13:46a traumatic event that prompted many more Israelis
13:49to seek refuge here.
13:50He complained about graffiti that appeared near his business.
13:55It was a terrorist attack next to us,
13:58so we fled to the Cyprus.
14:00It's close to home, and it feels like Israel.
14:04Do you want to go back?
14:05No, no.
14:07Why?
14:08There is no stress here.
14:10Everything here is siga-siga.
14:12What is it, siga-siga?
14:13Slowly, slowly.
14:15Okay.
14:16So, what do you think about what's happening
14:18in the Middle East at the moment?
14:21We are witnesses to history.
14:23The Jewish nation is saving the world
14:26from the terror regime in Iran.
14:29And with God's help, we will finish them
14:32and the world will be a better place.
14:34What about the international laws?
14:36That Israeli attacked both Lebanon and Iran.
14:40We are eliminating this threat one and for all.
14:45The same thing we are doing with Iran
14:47and the same thing we did with Hamas.
14:49It was a threat.
14:50They invaded Israel in October 7, 2023.
14:54Does this justify killing civilians?
14:58We didn't start this war.
15:00We never start...
15:01But did this justify to kill civilians?
15:02We never start the war.
15:04We're just finishing it.
15:08Like this restaurant owner,
15:10a great majority of Israeli Jews, 78%,
15:14continue to support the month-long war on Iran and Lebanon,
15:17according to recent polls.
15:20In Israel, only a minority are opposed
15:23to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the war.
15:30Avi Shai, a retired professor of political science,
15:33is among them.
15:34He lived and taught in Cyprus for 10 years
15:37and now visits as a tourist.
15:41My position is against the government
15:44and against the war.
15:46There are children in Gaza.
15:48Having been through what they've been in the last two years,
15:51I can't see them growing up without hatred.
15:55I see the children growing up in Israel
15:58with their fears,
16:00with the prospect of serving in wars
16:03and wars and wars for the rest of their lives.
16:07I was six when Israel was founded.
16:13And my sixth...
16:14When I went to first year in school,
16:16we were in shelters and in bombs.
16:19And I'm now 85 and I'm in shelters and bombs.
16:23How do you feel about the fact that your opposition
16:26is still a minority in Israel?
16:30The minority is not always a minority
16:33and there is a hope for change.
16:39At the time of editing my report in mid-April,
16:42more than 2,000 people had been killed in Lebanon.
16:47What are numbers to the wider public
16:49can be family or friends to the Lebanese diaspora.
16:53In Cyprus, many of the 20,000 people of Lebanese descent
16:57watch the news with horror and worry.
17:00Some are still trying to put their lives back together
17:03and keep the pain at bay.
17:05I grew up in Lebanon.
17:07Besides the war, I had a great childhood.
17:11And the beauty of Lebanon is inside me.
17:17It's my country, it's my people.
17:20And wherever I go, it stays with me.
17:25The Lebanese people are resilient.
17:27But now, if you ask any Lebanese,
17:30they don't want to be resilient anymore.
17:32Oh, they are tired.
17:33We are all tired.
17:42Over 3 million people have been displaced in Iran
17:45and another 1 million within Lebanon since the war began.
17:50Humanitarian agencies warn of a potential refugee crisis.
17:53In Cyprus, the authorities say they remain vigilant,
17:56despite the country not having seen large waves of refugees so far.
18:00The Cypriot Migration Minister believes the EU's new Pact on Migration and Asylum
18:06should help avoid a repeat of the 2015 crisis,
18:10when the Syrian civil war caused the largest refugee movement in Europe since World War II.
18:17Things have changed since the last refugee crisis in 2015.
18:21We've got more robust legislation and we believe that we're more ready now to deal with new refugee crisis.
18:32We are getting ready for the implementation of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum in June.
18:36It's also been pretty controversial.
18:38So are you going to support more people coming towards Cyprus or less people?
18:44So the new legislation gives us an opportunity to perform stricter controls at the borders,
18:52expedite our asylum procedures and improve our return procedures as well.
19:00So it's a general, comprehensive, cohesive legal framework that will enable us to improve our procedures.
19:09If you are going to have hundreds of thousands of people coming from Lebanon or Iran, what's going to happen?
19:16We have to examine on an individualised basis each application, of course,
19:21in order to ascertain whether these individuals are really in danger.
19:28Every day life in Cyprus goes on, as it almost always has, relaxed.
19:33The Middle East war watched from afar, as if not looking to directly, might keep it at bay.
19:41I left Cyprus feeling the island is already being shaped by the war,
19:46more than people are aware of, and the authorities are prepared to admit.
19:57If you are aware of any of the realms of idee gest glob
19:58you don't have a need for me, of course.
20:00touched on Lee at His happy life.
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