Jordan’s King Abdullah II has offered to station firefighting aircraft in Cyprus through the summer fire season.
Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides thanked the Jordanian monarch for the offer after talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, AP reported.
Mr Kasoulides had previously pitched to his Greek and Israeli counterparts the creation of an east Mediterranean firefighting depot aimed at quickly addressing large infernos that could overwhelm any single country.
The Cypriot official made the proposal during a virtual meeting of the three men, as well as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, geared towards closer cooperation on energy, economy, climate action, dealing with emergencies and counterterrorism.
Cyprus, Greece and Israel have often assisted each other in recent years by sending firefighting teams, equipment and aircraft to help contain dangerous wildfires.
Greece struggled to battle vast wildfires last year but the Cypriot proposal would streamline and accelerate cross-border assistance.
Cyprus, Jordan and Greece have a trilateral cooperation arrangement that aims to strengthen their defence and security ties.
