Military buildup in Cyprus ‘should not be permanent’, Erhurman says

The buildup of foreign military assets in and around Cyprus should not be permanent, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhruman said on Thursday.

“I do not think that the military assets which have come here will be permanent, and I am saying very clearly that they should not be,” he told Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, with Greece, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom all having deployed naval or aerial assets to the island and its vicinity in recent weeks after it was hit by an Iranian-made drone.

On this front, he said that “the British were already here because of the bases”, and that following the drone strike, “the French aircraft carrier the Charles de Gaulle came here, ships came from the Netherlands, from here and there”.

“Of course, their arrivals will be reported in the foreign press, and when that is reported, no matter what you say, the perception that this region is not a safe region will be implanted into people’s minds,” he said.

He added that with that array of military assets arriving in Cyprus, “you actually do not feel secure”, before criticising the Republic of Cyprus’ decision to strengthen its ties with Israel in recent years.

“It was not very recently, was it, the emergence of efforts to form an alliance between Israel, Greece, and southern Cyprus. Now, Israel is one of the main actors in this war, and you are portraying Israel as one of your allies and partners. So, if there are security concerns here, everyone can see from where they arise,” he said.

To this end, he said that “the Greek Cypriot administration must abandon this adventurous stance and face the realities as soon as possible”.

“If southern Cyprus continues to see itself as a very special actor in the region, we will continue to face very great risks,” he said.

To this end, he stressed that while “the British bases have come to the forefront recently”, the Republic of Cyprus’ own military alliances and the perceived risks they entail must also be highlighted.

“We should not ignore the existence of the Andreas Papandreou airbase in Paphos and the military agreements and alliances made in line with that base,” he said, with the United States having been involved in discussions regarding upgrades to the airbase in recent months.

He said on this that it is “unfair to expect Turkish Cypriots to bear the consequences of decisions made without their consent”.

Later, he made reference to the deployment of six Turkish F-16 fighter jets to the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport in the aftermath of the drone strike, and expressed disgruntlement at the Greek government’s criticism of that deployment.

“They criticise the F-16s sent here by Turkey, and they even consider themselves entitled to comment on these. According to the status of this country, the Republic of Turkey is a guarantor of the entire island. So, what about France? What about the Netherlands? What status do they have from the island’s perspective,” he asked.

He then added that there is “barely any space left in the sea” off Cyprus due to the mass deployment of naval assets.