Cyprus asks for permission from the EU to lease helicopters to fight fires

Cyprus intends to ask the European Union for permission to lease Russian fire helicopters, which requires an easing of anti-Russian sanctions. This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of the Republic of Costas Cadiz, reports CyprusMail.

“The Minister of Foreign Affairs has already been informed on this matter, and steps are being taken in Brussels to allow the Republic of Cyprus to lease Russian helicopters for firefighting needs this year,” Cadiz said.

According to the minister, the sanctions not only affected the supply of equipment from Russia, but also made it difficult to provide fire fighting services. The available equipment is not enough to eliminate all fires in the summer season, said the head of the Ministry of Agriculture of Cyprus.

Since the end of February, the EU countries, the USA , Great Britain, Canada, Japan and other states have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia. The measures affected, among other things, the banking sector, export-import restrictions, individual politicians, officials and businessmen.

Russia has become the world leader in terms of the number of sanctions imposed against it, overtaking Iran.