France will send two frigates as part of the European Union's Aspides naval mission in the Red Sea, French President Emmanuel Macron announced.

"We are currently establishing an exclusively defensive escort mission that must be prepared jointly with both European and non-European states," Macron said after meeting in Cyprus with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.

He stated that an attack on Cyprus is an attack on all of Europe. "The defense of Cyprus is obviously a key issue for your country, for your neighbor, partner, and friend Greece, as well as for France and, with it, the European Union," he added.