S-300 crisis: Revelation about a routine tension in our neighborhood

S-300 crisis: Revelation about a routine tension in our neighborhood

Excerpts of a new forthcoming book by former president of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Klerides were published in Greek Daily To Vima last month, shedding light on behind the scenes diplomatic discussions over the Greek Cypriot purchase of an S-300 missile system in 1997 and the crisis it created in the region. The memoirs of Klerides, in office from 1993-2003, reveal that Greek Cyprus was obliged to reverse its decision after a meeting with the Greek government during which Greece put pressure on Cyprus to send the missile system to Crete fearing reaction from the United States, the European Union and the foreign diplomatic community. The crisis among Turkey, Greek Cyprus and Greece dominated the East Mediterranean after the Greek Cypriot government signed an agreement with Russia to purchase an S-300 surface-to-air theater missile defense system in 1997.
However the tension between parties only deepened in the fall of 1998 when Russia announced that they were ready to deliver the system to Greek Cyprus. The S-300 system is capable of intercepting and destroying aircraft at ranges up to 150 kilometers, and incoming missiles at ranges of up to 40 kilometers.
With this move, the Cypriot government was potentially simply trying to challenge Turkey’s air force superiority while at the same time protecting its newly built military base in Paphos.
Having strongly reacted to the agreement, Turkey warned Russia not to sell this system to Cyprus, arguing that these missiles would pose a threat to its security. In response, the Greek Cypriot government argued that this was a defensive system and would pose a threat only to Turkish military aircraft that violate Cypriot airspace.
Determined not to allow Greek Cypriots to purchase these missiles, Turkey started to check the suspected ships passing through the Turkish straits. As the situation escalated, the United States stepped in and tried to cool down the tension, urging both parties to refrain from moves that could have destabilized the entire region.
After strong reactions from Washington and London, in a move to step back from their insistent policies, Greece and Greek Cyprus decided on Dec. 29, 1998 to deploy the system in Crete. The region escaped another big crisis with a compromise made by Nicosia. The following chapter from Klerides’ forthcoming book gives an insider’s view into how Greece and Greek Cyprus leaders made the decision to send the S-300 defense system to Crete. Klerides in his book gives a detailed account of the crucial meeting between attended by Greek and Greek Cypriot delegations headed by Glafkos Klerides and Greek Prime Minister Kostas Simitis.