Moscow warns Cyprus against allowing US military to deploy on island

Moscow will have to take response measures in case of a military build-up by the US in Cyprus, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday. According to information from different sources, Washington is taking actions to ensure the possibility of building up its military presence in Cyprus, she said. Such activity is aimed at countering “the growing Russian influence in the region in light of the successful implementation of the operation of the Russian Aerospace Force in Syria,” TASS quoted the spokeswoman as saying. The further militarization of the island and its involvement in the implementation of American and NATO plans “will inevitably lead to dangerous and destabilizing consequences for Cyprus itself,” Zakharova noted. “Moscow cannot but take into consideration the anti-Russian background of these schemes. We will have to take response measures in case of their implementation,” she added.