NICOSIA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Cypriot main opposition left-wing Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL) has strongly denounced plans by the British Defense Ministry to deploy F-35 stealth planes in a British military base in Cyprus.
"We denounce the scheduled deployment of the F-35B fighter jets to Cyprus and demand that it be revoked," AKEL, the former communist party of Cyprus, said in a statement on Wednesday.
The statement quoted the British defense minister as saying that the plans involve the deployment of 17 state-of-the-art Lockheed Martin F-35B at Akrotiri British Air Base, on the south coast of Cyprus, so that military staff will gain necessary experience in maintaining and flying the aircraft in an unfamiliar environment.
It added that the aim is to make the aircraft fully operational so as to protect Britain's interests and those of its allies across the world.
"The question arises whether this is part of a more comprehensive plan by Britain and its allies to turn Cyprus into a staging point for waging aggressive military operations in the wider region of the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean," AKEL's statement said.
Akrotiri air base has been repeatedly used by the British Royal Air Force for operations in military theaters in the region, such as maintaining a no-fly zone over Libya after the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi eight years ago, and for carrying out bombing sorties against the Islamic State in Syria.
These operations were carried out by Tornado planes, which were withdrawn from service more than a year ago.
AKEL said that the transfer of the F-35 planes raises the question of the danger Cyprus is being drawn in, and whether this is going on with the full knowledge of the Cypriot government.
The area of the British bases in Cyprus, comprising 3 percent of the territory of the eastern Mediterranean island, is considered to be British overseas soil.
Britain is not obliged to provide information on its activities in the bases, but it usually informs the Cypriot government when major operations are being undertaken in the region out of the bases.
AKEL's statement said that Cyprus must become a bridge to peace and not an aggressive launching pad for waging war.
The British Defense Ministry said that the planes, out of a total of 138 F-35s to be purchased by Britain, will be brought to Cyprus on aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at some point in this autumn, "marking an important milestone in this game-changing aircraft becoming operational."
