Turkish officials have denied newspaper reports that Russian anti-aircraft missiles have been sent to Cyprus.

A Russian newspaper Sevodnya reported that the weapons were on the island and that Russian experts were training Greek-Cypriot teams in how to use them.

But a Turkish foreign ministry spokesman said it would have been impossible for the missiles to be delivered un-noticed.

The Turkish Defence Minister Ismet Sezgin said that Turkey would do whatever was necessary if the weapons were installed.

The Greek Cypriot government announced last year that it intended to deploy the Russian missiles in August or September of this year.