S-300s tested in Greece

The object of the 1997-8 ‘Cyprus Missile Crisis’ – the S-300 missiles purchased from Russia by Cyprus but redirected to Crete following a barrage of threats, counter-reactions and finally an agreement shrouded in mystery – were successfully tested on Friday at the site near Chania, Crete, where they were installed.

This was the first test of the missile system conducted by a NATO member. Part of a military exercise of the Greek armed forces, code-named ‘White Eagle 2013’, the test was attended by Greek Defence Minister Demetris Avramopoulos and his Cypriot counterpart Fotis Fotiou.

The missiles wound up in Crete as an Athens-brokered compromise with then-President of the Republic of Cyprus, the late Glafcos Clerides, designed to neutralise Turkish threats for military retaliation should the missiles be deployed in Cyprus. In return, Greece reportedly supplied Cyprus with short-range TOR-M1 missiles and other undisclosed military assets.

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