Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan welcomes his Lebanese counterpart, Joseph Aoun, at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, July 30, 2026. [Mustafa Kamaci/Turkish Presidential Press Office/Handout via Reuters]
The visit by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Ankara, the first by a Lebanese head of state in 17 years, and his meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are seen mainly as part of Turkish efforts to, at a minimum, ensure Lebanon’s continuing neutral stance in the conflict between Israel and Turkey.
But there is another dimension: Turkey is trying to woo Lebanon away from cooperation with Cyprus. Ankara did not take kindly to the two countries’ agreement at the end of last year in which they delineated their Exclusive Maritime Zones, ignoring the Turkish dogma that islands cannot have such maritime zones.
Similar agreements between Cyprus and Israel and Egypt and Greece have also upset Turkey, which has seen its own memorandum with Libya widely panned.
Cyprus’ close cooperation with Israel is evident in defense: having rejected Greece’s offer to send it old Leopard tanks, Cyprus is in advanced talks to acquire two modern types of Israeli tanks.
