The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Thursday warned against the recent military armament efforts of its neighbor in the south after the Greek Cypriot administration took delivery of an Israeli air defense system.
“We have persistently expressed for a long time that the support from the U.S. administration to the Greek Cypriot administration under the guise of strategic partnership and its military cooperation with Israel and France pose the risk of upending the delicate balances in the region,” the TRNC’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Cyprus was split in Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power after a brief Greek-inspired coup in 1974, preceded by years of attacks and persecution by Greek Cypriots on Cypriot Turks. The internationally recognized Greek Cypriot administration controls the south, and the TRNC controls the north, which entirely broke away from the south and declared independence in 1983 but is only recognized by Türkiye.
Seeking to tap into new markets to upgrade its defense capabilities after the loss of key supplier Russia, the Greek Cypriot administration earlier this week took delivery of the Barak MX anti-aircraft system, which will complement and eventually replace the older Russian-made Tor M1.
“These armament activities have a high likelihood of dragging the entire island to disaster in the near future,” the TRNC said. “Therefore, we are once again urging all sides to act with common sense and international actors to stop encouraging the Greek Cypriot administration.”
The TRNC, “as equal owners of the island, will continue fighting against any Greek Cypriot effort to turn the island into a military base for the interests of certain powers,” it added.
Seeking ‘deterrence’
TV station Sigma said the first deliveries of Israeli anti-aircraft systems were made on Tuesday. Greek Cypriot officials declined to comment on the specifics of the report.
“The only thing I can say is we will and are doing everything necessary to bolster the deterrence force of Cyprus, not only because we are a country under occupation, but an EU member state in a region of particular geo-strategic importance,” Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides told reporters on Thursday.
Russia has been a leading supplier of military hardware to the Greek Cypriot administration for decades, but deals tapered off even before a blanket ban on exports in the wake of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Those sanctions have left the south’s existing defense systems short of spare parts and they cannot be upgraded, a senior Greek Cypriot source told Reuters.
As a result, the Greek Cypriot administration has had to turn to EU countries, as well as Israel, for upgrades, including for their anti-aircraft umbrella, the source added.
Greek Cypriot officials never openly disclose procurement programs because of ongoing tensions with Türkiye.
An attempt by the Greek Cypriot administration to upgrade its anti-aircraft umbrella in 1998 with surface-to-air S-300 missiles from Russia culminated in a military standoff with Türkiye, and the administration hurriedly diverted the system to Crete.
That acquisition was not supported by either Britain or the U.S. at the time, though relations with Washington have improved markedly in recent years as the geostrategically positioned south has anchored its policies firmly to the West.
Christodoulides spoke by phone with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump on Thursday. “(Christodoulides) underscored his intention to cooperate closely for the further strengthening of ties,” a spokesperson for the Greek Cypriot leader said.
NATO ambitions
Tensions also flared on the island over the summer after the U.S. sent two warships to the Greek Cypriot administration, which the TRNC says was meant as an “element of threat” against it.
The TRNC was also outraged following reports that British and U.S. bases on the island support Israel’s attacks on Gaza, with TRNC President Ersin Tatar accusing the Greek Cypriot administration of endangering the island’s 50-year peace period by becoming a logistical base serving Western interests.
The TRNC on Thursday also dismissed Greek Cypriot ambitions for NATO membership, saying: “(They) must have forgotten NATO expansion decisions are taken unilaterally, and they were emboldened enough to consider becoming a NATO member. It’s obvious where they are taking this boost of courage from.”
NATO member Türkiye too recently slammed plans of the Greek Cypriot administration to apply for membership in the military alliance as “unacceptable.”
Ankara does not recognize the government in the island’s south. Christodoulides says the Greek Cypriot administration was expanding its military cooperation with the United States despite Turkish criticism for this reason.
He claimed the Greek Cypriot administration could apply to become a member of NATO once its armed forces receive the necessary training and equipment with U.S. help to bring them up to the standards of the alliance.
The Cyprus crisis has been essentially deadlocked for years, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Türkiye is a guarantor country for the TRNC and fully supports a two-state solution on the island based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.
The U.N. is currently working to prepare for a resumption of peace talks between the rival sides.