Boris Demash
On Wednesday, leader of Lebanon’s terrorist organisation Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, accused Cyprus of providing Israel with its infrastructure for military purposes. He warned Cyprus that it could become Hezbollah’s target for if Cypriot airports and military bases were used by Israel against Lebanon.
In response, President Christodoulides told reporters that “Cyprusis in no way involved in military conflicts.” He added that the role of Cyprus as a humanitarian corridor is acknowledged not only by the Arab world, but also by the international community. The President emphasized that “the Republic of Cyprus is not part of the problem, but part of the solution.”
Nasrallah’s statement came almost simultaneously with Moscow’s threat of a missile strike on Cyprus from Syria with the help of Russian-backed Arab terrorists. This was stated by Russian military expert, the head of the Center for the Study of Military—Political Conflicts, Andrei Klintsevich, in the “We are in the know” program of Tsargrad, propaganda TV channel. In particular, he said that he knew how Moscow could respond to the US and NATO’s permission to the Ukrainian military to strike with Western weapons on Russian territory. “Just one strike from Syria on the British Akrotiri base in Cyprus will cause a lot of noise,” he said.
“There is a British air base in Cyprus, it is located 200 km from Syria. Suppose some group accidentally hits this base and destroys certain number of aircraft there… There will be a lot of noise, there will be a lot of noise, but in fact the West only understands force,” Klintsevich said.
There is no doubt that the threats both by the Russian military expert on the Kremlin’s propaganda TV channel and the Moscow-allied Lebanese Shiite terrorist organization against Cyprus are coordinated and complementary. Their joint efforts are the same. In Putin’s Russia, such threats could not be made without direct orders from the Kremlin and surely agreed with its ally, Iran, Hezbollah’s patron.
Putin urgently needs to expand his war against Israel to other countries and regions to divert the world’s attention from his war in Ukraine. And Cyprus, as an EU member state, is ideal for this.
It is important to remember that there is nothing crazy that Russia would not do. Recent events show that there are no rules, limits and red lines for Putin. Putin and the Russian people who support him are ready to commit any atrocities to achieve their mythical goals. Therefore, it is necessary to be serious about the Kremlin’s threats.
The personality of the military expert who was charged by the Kremlin to voice a threat against Cyprus is interesting. Andrei Klintsevich is the son of a member of the upper house of the Russian parliament, First Deputy Chairman of the Federal Council Committee on Defense and Security, and (according to some sources), a citizen of Cyprus, Franz Klintsevich. The biography of the former political worker and military interpreter indicates his connection with Russian military intelligence. No doubt, Andrei, like his father, is a GRU officer.
From Andrei Klintsevich biography: “…graduated from the Tver Suvorov Military School, received higher education at the Military University of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. After graduating from the University, Andrei Klintsevich was assigned to a separate special-purpose airborne regiment.
Since 2006, Andrei Klintsevich has worked in foreign agencies of the Russian Federation, according to his biography on the 24SMI website.
From 2013 to 2014, he served as the Associate Director for foreign economic relations at JSC Concern Granit-Electron, according to Ukraina.ru.
Worked at the Russian embassy in Minsk.”
I believe that the phrase “Since 2006, Andrei Klintsevich worked in foreign agencies of the Russian Federation” leaves no doubt that this is the biography of a Russian military intelligence officer.
This story about Cyprus is not over yet. As it turned out, Andrei Klintsevich’s sister lives on the island and, like their father, she has Cypriot citizenship.
I wonder if the Cypriots know that the moment Hezbollah missiles fly towards them, there will be a pro-Russian person in Cyprus who will adjust fire?
Answering the question of any connection between Cyprus, Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, President Christodoulides said diplomatic channels with both sides remained open.
Given the example of Israel, the President of Cyprus should know that it is pointless to maintain contact with Muslim terrorists. They must be destroyed and Israel must be supported in its fight against Arab terror. Or, at least, not interfere with him, what the socialists in power in Western countries are trying to do.