The Ministry of National Defense on Thursday reiterated President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s criticism of developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and said any military alliance targeting the rights and interests of Türkiye and Turkish Cypriots had no chance of success against Türkiye.
Tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean escalated in recent years, in light of brewing conflicts in the Middle East and the lingering divide in Cyprus. Türkiye advocates for the sovereignty of Turkish Cypriots, whose Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) strives for international recognition while Greek Cypriots seek to boost their self-styled legitimacy through international alliances. The race for hydrocarbon resources around the island led to a build-up of tensions, with Türkiye and the TRNC seeking to defend their maritime rights as Greek Cypriots cooperate with other countries for offshore exploration.
In response to questions about the Status of Forces Agreement between France and the Greek Cypriot administration, the ministry said they were following “any provocation to destabilize the Eastern Mediterranean and escalating tensions.”
“The agreement between France, which has no guarantor status on Cyprus, and the Greek Cypriot administration aims to unilaterally change the sensitive balance in the island and ignores the will and sovereign equal rights of Turkish Cypriots. It is against the 1960 Cyprus treaties and international laws,” the ministry said, referring to the treaties that led to the creation of a state in Cyprus and designated Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom as guarantor states over the status of the island. “The illegitimate steps whose consequences are not thoroughly thought out can have dangerous consequences for the south of the island,” the ministry added.
