Cyprus says frigate underlines French support

Cypriot Defense Minister Savvas Angelides says a French frigate within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone (EEZ) was not intended to militarize a situation but to show support from France towards the Republic's sovereign rights.
"Let me be clear, first of all, so that no wrong messages are sent out. There is no intention to militarize the whole situation, that's for sure," Angelides told a local TV channel on Saturday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, Cyprus and France completed on Sunday a joined military exercise within the Cypriot EEZ. The FNS La Fayette, the OPV Ioannides, Special Forces of the Cyprus Navy and an AW-139 helicopter of the Cyprus Air Force, conducted a series of training exercises off the southern coast of Cyprus and within EEZ Blocks 6,7,10 and 11.
Nicosia cried foul recently over Ankara sending drill ship Yavuz inside block 7, a zone claimed by...