The Turkish Foreign Ministry said that it is not possible to accept France’s deployment of military aircraft in the administration of southern Cyprus, other than the 1960 agreements, in the context of its steps to escalate the current tension in the region.
This came in a statement issued by the ministry’s spokesman, Hami Aksoy, on Saturday evening, commenting on the announcement of the entry into force of an agreement between Roman Cyprus and France on the first of August.
The agreement announced, on Saturday, between Cyprus and France, is the “Defense Cooperation Agreement”, which was signed on April 4, 2017.
Aksoy pointed out that Roman Cyprus is neither qualified nor authorized to sign such an agreement, as it does not represent the entire island and the Turkish Cypriots.
The spokesman explained that the agreement contravenes the 1960 agreements and the balance established by these agreements, and carries a risk of disrupting efforts aimed at establishing stability and security in the eastern Mediterranean.
He stressed that the Turkish side had previously presented constructive and positive proposals to transform the region into a place of prosperity and stability, but these proposals were rejected by the Greek-Romanian bilateral.
He added, “”France cannot accept steps that would escalate tension further at the current stage, and in this context deploy military aircraft here, unlike the 1960 agreements, even temporarily through organizing joint exercises with the administration of southern Cyprus.”
Hami Aksoy expressed Turkey’s support for the reaction and statements made in this regard by the authorities in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The statement concluded: “We call on France, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, to act with greater responsibility in the issues related to Cyprus on the United Nations agenda.”
Earlier, two “Rafale” fighters and one designated for cargo, “C-130”, belonging to the French Air Force, landed at the Andreas Papandreou airbase in Cyprus.
