Türkiye warns against Greek Cypriot administration’s armament activities

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye on Friday criticized the Greek Cypriot administration’s increased armament activities and warned such actions could undermine regional stability and peace.

"This misguided policy could further undermine the stability and peace of our region and will lead to an arms race on the island,” a Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said.

It said that Türkiye shared the views expressed in a statement made on the issue by the Foreign Ministry of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The TRNC’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday expressed concerns over the intensification of the Greek Cypriot administration’s military activities, “bolstered by ‘strategic partnership’ with support from powers like the United States.”

“We have repeatedly emphasized that the support extended by the US to the Greek Cypriot administration, under the pretext of a strategic partnership, alongside military cooperation with countries like Israel and France, threatens to disrupt the fragile balances in the region,” it said.

The ministry said it will continue its efforts to “oppose attempts to transform Southern Cyprus into a military base in line with the interests of specific powers.”

It slammed the Greek Cypriot administration's activities under the pretext of a so-called "security threat," saying it would lead to a “disaster for the entire island in the future.”

The ministry also called on relevant parties to “act with reason” and call on international actors to “avoid encouraging” the Greek Cypriot administration.

- Decades-long struggle

For decades, the island of Cyprus has been mired in a dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot Administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus based on sovereign equality and equal international status.