Germany sent additional troops to Cyprus on October 21, following last week’s deployment of special forces to the island. This comes after Cyprus’s joint military drills with France, Italy and Greece and its commitment to strengthen ties with the European Union. Cyprus’s EU membership has pushed Britain out of the strategic island and let Germany in.

“Now that Britain has left the EU, its vital military bases in Cyprus are at the mercy of a Greek Cypriot regime drunk on the political leverage handed to it by Brussels,” Politics Today noted on October 11. The author suggested using the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to ensure Britain’s military bases don’t fall into the hands of the EU, but Cyprus currently has no interest in nato.

In May, Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides committed his country to an increased military buildup. In September, the country hosted a five-day drill that involved naval and air forces, including French Rafale jet fighters and Airbus A400M Atlas transport aircraft, according to the Cyprus Defense Ministry. Christodoulides said Cyprus has “particular geostrategic significance” for the EU.

“The exercise also includes for the first time this year civilian evacuation drills in the event of a regional emergency,” the Associated Press reported on September 14. These preparations paid off after Hamas terrorists massacred 1,400 civilians in Israel just three weeks later. Following the Hamas attack, Germany and the Netherlands stationed troops in Cyprus to prepare for civilian evacuation missions in the Middle East.

The drills are part of France’s efforts to tie Cyprus to the EU, as Politics Today stated:

There is even talk of France, arguably the EU’s most powerful nation, now seeking to establish its own military presence in Cyprus. President Emmanuel Macron, who has long called for a unified European army that would make Europe less dependent on nato for its defense, is undoubtedly using the EU as a mechanism to project French soft power onto Cyprus. France may even be seeking to replace Britain in Cyprus, trying to make London subservient to Paris when it comes to securing British interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In recent months, Cyprus has gone along with EU goals. As Paul Iddon wrote for Forbes on May 19:

While nato has long obliged its members to allocate at least 2 percent of their [gross domestic products] for defense spending, Christodoulides clarified that he does not seek membership in the alliance for Cyprus at present. Instead, he wants to put Cyprus “at the core” of efforts by the European Union to enhance European defenses. “I also served as foreign minister, and I know that without a strong deterrent force, without a strong defense, your say in foreign-policy matters is clearly limited,” he said.

Cyprus could well be on the verge of the most significant military buildup since the 1990s. In the second half of that decade, Nicosia turned to Russia for military hardware since the United States had imposed a complete arms embargo on the island in 1987 under the pretext of preventing an arms race there. That embargo was finally lifted in 2022, which could mean Cyprus might buy Western weaponry to replace its aged Russian arsenal.

Few realize it, but Germany is the true force behind the EU’s takeover of Cyprus and its recent military buildup.

When Cyprus faced serious economic trouble in 2013, “Germany blocked Russia from getting involved, and stepped in to offer a bailout package—with tough conditions,” Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote. “Cyprus accepted. Thus, the EU became the de facto ruler of Cyprus. … And since Germany is Europe’s largest economy and put up the largest share of the money, Germany became the real power in Cyprus.”

Economic ties between the countries have since increased significantly. The German Foreign Office noted:

In 2022, German exports to Cyprus were worth €780.7 million, while imports from Cyprus to Germany totaled €275.1 million. Within the EU, Cyprus is one of the most important shipping centers and has the second-largest open register of ships; it also has the world’s ninth-largest fleet by tonnage. In the field of ship management, German or German-led companies have a market share of around 50 percent. As part of the privatization of Limassol port, the German company Eurogate took over management of the container terminal in 2016.

Military ties have also grown. For 17 years, German troops have been stationed in Cyprus as part of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Cyprus looked to Germany for security. On May 3, 2022, Cyprus and Germany signed their first Bilateral Defense Cooperation Program, which includes joint military exercises.

Step by step, Germany is ensuring Cyprus’s economic and military dependence on the EU.

A prophecy in Daniel 11:40-45 shows that a German-led European empire will conduct vast military operations in the Middle East. Germany is currently preparing for these missions, and the Bible indicates Cyprus will play a crucial role in their success.

To prove these prophecies for yourself, read Mr. Flurry’s article “Why Germany Conquered Cyprus.”