Ioannis Kasoulides
Ioannis KasoulidesReuters

Cyprus Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides has expressed “great concern” about developments in Lebanon, "where there is an immediate risk for Cyprus if ISIS or Jihadist terrorists advanced to the shores of the Mediterranean,” reports the Famagusta Gazette.

Kasoulides also “stressed that due to its geographical position, the Republic of Cyprus is at the forefront and is the outpost of the EU in this turbulent region.” 

It was further reported that FM Kasoulides “appealed to the international community, especially the EU, to actively assist Lebanon, saying that if terrorist groups reach the shores of the Eastern Mediterranean that would create an immediate danger to the safety of Cyprus."

“Cyprus has donated ammunition to the Lebanese Army,” he noted, adding: “We expect that other countries will follow our example.”

Kasoulides finally explained that even though “the risk for Cyprus may seem to be remote at the moment," governments do not operate on the basis of probabilities, they operate on the basis of possibilities, “and the possibility is there".”

FM Kasoulides' grave concerns about the possibility that even a few Islamist Jihadis will decamp on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean would appear to buttress the view that Israel is a great strategic asset to Europe as a bulwark against the waxing Islamic State on the Levant. This strategic value has been discussed at length in previous Arutz Shevaanalysis and op-ed pieces.