Cyprus to offer technical aid to Ukraine on mines clearance

Cyprus will offer Ukraine technical training on landmine clearing as part of its humanitarian assistance, its defense minister said on Friday.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who is visiting Cyprus on Friday, is set to tour areas where the training will take place.

"We will host personnel which will handle de-mining and detection of mines," Cypriot Defense Minister Michalis Georgallas told Sigma TV.

A group of around 18 Ukrainian officers will be in Cyprus for training in the last week of April, according to the Politis newspaper, which first reported the story.

Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek inspired coup.

A 180 km (116 mile) dividing line across Cyprus was dotted with minefields until the two sides started clearing areas in the past decade with assistance from the United Nations. [Reuters]