Cyprus’s Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas said on Monday that no discussions have taken place on making the Greek F-16 fighter jets and frigate Elli permanently based on the island, three months after Greece deployed the forces following Iranian drone strikes on RAF Akrotiri.

Vasilis Palmas made the remarks on the sidelines of a handover ceremony for results of entrance examinations for reserve officers of the second intake of 2026.

“The F-16s continue to be in Cyprus, the frigate Elli continues to be in Cypriot territorial waters, but this is a temporary stay. We have not discussed either a temporary or a permanent presence,” Palmas said. He added that “when and if we reassess the situation, we will discuss whether there will be a permanent presence or not.”

The US-led war against Iran appeared to be easing, the minister said, adding that Cyprus was assessing the situation daily in cooperation with the Greek government. He repeated the government’s thanks to “Greece and the other countries that supported Cyprus during that critical period when the war broke out and raised a protective umbrella over the Republic of Cyprus.”

On the bilateral relationship with Greece, Palmas said it was “at such a high level that we can coordinate on everything at any moment and whatever may arise.”

Palmas also moved to correct recent reports suggesting the Cyprus-France Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) included a permanent French military presence on the island. No such provision exists, he said, and the arrangement was in no way comparable to the longstanding Greek force that had been stationed in Cyprus for many years.

Under the agreement, French troops could remain in Cyprus for specific periods to support humanitarian or peacekeeping missions — for example, to assist in the evacuation of French nationals from a dangerous zone in the Middle East or Eastern Mediterranean — for as long as required to complete such a mission.

The SOFA was signed within the framework of a broader bilateral relationship, Palmas said, to “further improve our relationship and enable the forces of both countries to be facilitated in matters relating to exercises, training, exchange of information and other purposes provided for under the agreement.” The frequency and form of joint activities would be adjusted according to the programmes of the two countries’ armed forces, he added.

On the sidelines of a defence equipment exhibition in Paris, Palmas said he was also meeting with Brazil’s Deputy Minister of Defence. An existing level of cooperation between the two defence ministries would be reviewed, with ways of improving the relationship to be explored.

Asked about procurement under the EU’s SAFE programme, the minister said the aim was to strengthen both Cyprus’s defence capabilities and its defence industry, with synergies focused primarily on European countries — particularly France — in cooperation with Cypriot defence companies.

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