The Cyprus defence minister and the government's official spokesman resigned on Monday, prompting speculation that President Glafcos Clerides will now have to bring forward a cabinet reshuffle originally expected next month.

Both Defence Minister Yiannakis Chrysostomis and government spokesman Costas Serezis had been in their posts for only a few months but both have commanded a surprisingly large number of critical front-page stories during their short tenures.

Mr Chrysostomis said that he decided to resign "out of reasons of dignity", because he was not informed of the president's intentions despite persistent press reports he would be replaced.

Arms row

The defence minister was at the centre of a row over the discovery that the national guard's Russian-made tanks had been running on the wrong fuel for years.

Then came the revelation that the army was running out of ammunition and more recently there has been a scandal over allegations that Mr Chrysostomis had been wined and dined by an international arms manufacturer in Paris.

That, it was claimed, was part of a deal for the purchase of Italian-made missiles, an allegation strongly denied by the minister. He said it was just part of a campaign to hound him out of office.

Out of touch

Mr Serezis, the government spokesman, had been in trouble almost since he returned to the island after working for many years in Greece.

He appeared out of touch with the political situation in Cyprus, making some very embarrassing mistakes. But his previous attempts to quit had been turned down by the president.

The two resignations came a week after Communications and Works Minister Leondios Ierodiaconou announced he would be resigning at the end of the month to take up a position with a private research team in Sweden.

President Clerides is now having to look at a full reshuffle of his 11-member cabinet, just five months after the last one.