Macron to visit Cyprus as France deploys warships to Mediterannean

PARIS: President Emmanuel Macron will visit Cyprus on Monday, his office said, as France deploys warships to the Mediterranean following a drone attack on Cyprus days ago.

Macron will meet Cypriot counterpart Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Paphos to show “solidarity” and detail moves to “strengthen security around Cyprus and in the eastern Mediterranean”, the Elysee said on Sunday.

The visit will take place as the war pitting US and Israel against Iran is in its second week, affecting much of the Middle East.

Cyprus, an EU country, on Monday was targeted by Iranian-made drones, leading Macron to order France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean and a frigate and air defence units to Cyprus.

READ MORE: European states move to secure Red Sea navigation, protect Cyprus

“This trip is intended to demonstrate France’s solidarity with Cyprus, a member state of the European Union with which we have a strategic partnership” and which was recently hit “by several drones and missile strikes”, the Elysee said.

The visit to Cyprus will also allow Macron “to emphasise the importance of guaranteeing freedom of navigation and maritime security in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz, in particular through the European Union’s Aspides maritime operation,” it added.

There have been numerous attacks on ships navigating the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint in the Gulf, since the US-Israeli war on Iran started on February 28.

Nearly 20 percent of the world’s crude oil and about 20 percent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) usually transit through the key shipping lane.

The Cyprus meeting is also set to focus on the safety of European nationals in the region and support repatriation operations, the French president’s office said.

Nearly 400,000 French nationals either living in or visiting countries affected by the conflict that has spread across the Gulf region as well as to Lebanon and Iraq.

At least 4,300 people have been able to return to France since the start of hostilities, according to France’s foreign ministry.

Britain and Italy have also dispatched a warship each to Cyprus to boost the island’s defences.