Nicosia gave its consent to a US request for temporary deployment in Cyprus of a rapid response unit. The task of the unit will be to evacuate US diplomatic missions to the region, as well as US citizens, if necessary.

Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is due to meet his counterparts from Cyprus, Egypt, France and Italy in Cairo this Wednesday, according to diplomatic sources.

«The Turkish decision to deploy troops in Libya presents a dangerous threat to regional stability. This decision constitutes a gross violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011), imposing an arms embargo in Libya and seriously undermines the international community’s efforts to find a peaceful, political solution to the Libyan conflict. It marks a dangerous escalation of the conflict and a significant deterioration of the situation. Turkey should not violate the Libyan Political Agreement and related United Nations resolutions. The repercussions of such a reckless move will be dire for the stability and peace of the entire region. Ankara should refrain from taking such action, which blatantly violates Libyan national sovereignty and independence» said a common statement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President of the Cyprus Republic Nicos Anastasiades and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.