Nothing has been signed yet, but Kommersant is reporting that Cyprus President Dmitris Christofias will be shopping for Russian anti-missile systems, along with some tanks and helicopters, during his upcoming visit to Moscow. I’m not sure what to make of this. Should Russia agree, it seems like a pretty provocative gesture towards Turkey, which was already a bit rattled by the Georgia War. Russia is one of Turkey’s major trading partners, and Christofias was elected on a platform of Cypriot reconciliation. So it would seem that closer integration — as long as it weren’t of the military hardware variety — between Moscow and Cyprus would ultimately add momentum to resolving a minor island dispute that has disproportionately poisoned NATO-EU relations for. . . Oh, wait. I think I understand now.
Update: Scanning for reaction in the Turkish press, I came across this item in Hurriyet. Apparently Russia is as thrilled by the prospect of a U.S.-Israeli anti-missile installation in Turkey as it is about European-based missile defense.