Turkey on Thursday condemned this week’s signing of a roadmap to boost two-way defence co-operation between the United States and the Republic of Cyprus.
The US steps, including last June’s announcement of the launch of a strategic dialogue with Cyprus, are detrimental to the security of the Turkish Cypriot side of the island, the Turkish foreign ministry said.
“These steps … undermine the neutral USA position towards the island of Cyprus and make it more difficult to reach a just, lasting and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus issue,” it said in a statement.
President Nikos Christodoulides responded late in the day saying: “It is not Turkey that determines our decisions, nor are our decisions reactions to what Turkey does or does not do,” he added. “What matters is the recognition by the US of the role of the Republic of Cyprus in an area of particular geostrategic importance. We work on the basis of a positive approach and I am glad that the role of the Republic of Cyprus is being recognised.”
The move came amid United Nations efforts to find common ground for the resumption of long-stalled negotiations between the rival Greek and Turkish Cypriot communities on the Mediterranean island, which has been divided for decades.
On Monday, the United States and the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus signed the co-operation roadmap in Nicosia.
In a joint statement, their defence ministries reaffirmed their commitment to collaborate to tackle international security concerns via the roadmap.
Cypriot Defence Minister Vasilis Palmas said the signing constituted “a strong indication of our commitment to further upgrade and deepen our relationship.”
US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs Celeste Wallander described it as an “important milestone”.
The north’s ‘foreign ministry’ on Wednesday had likewise accused the United States of “bias” on the Cyprus problem.
The ‘ministry’ described the defence co-operation roadmap as the “latest example of the increasing support that the US has been giving to the Greek Cypriot side in recent times”, adding that “the most striking element of the roadmap is the advancement of the interoperability between the military forces of the two parties”.
It next pointed to other evidence of strengthened relations between the US and the Republic, including the docking of the USS Wasp in Limassol and the annual renewal of the lifting of the US arms embargo, calling these “concrete indicators of the biased support given by the US to the Greek Cypriot side.”
It warned this policy may “cause dangers”, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean and “disrupt all balances”.
“We call on the US, which we now see as a clear party in the Cyprus problem, to act with common sense, to put an end to its efforts to change the delicate balances in the region, and to end its biased stance on the Cyprus problem,” the ‘ministry’ said.
Meanwhile following up on the signing of the roadmap, Cypriot and American delegations on Thursday held the third ‘Defence and Security Dialogue’ in Nicosia.
According to a US Defence Department statement, the delegations discussed ways to deepen their countries’ security cooperation and enhance regional stability and security.
“Principal Director for Europe and Nato Policy Alton Buland led the U.S. delegation, which included representatives from U.S. European Command, U.S. Embassy Nicosia, and the New Jersey National Guard, the Republic of Cyprus’ state partner. Brigadier General Charis Georgiou, head of the Republic of Cyprus’ Minister of Defence’s military staff, led the Cypriot delegation and hosted the dialogue.”
The statement added:
“The delegations reviewed joint progress in our security cooperation, highlighting growth in international military education and training, joint exercises, and the recent one-year anniversary of the ROC’s joining the State Partnership Program. The delegations also discussed ways to further our security partnership in line with objectives under the US-ROC Roadmap for Bilateral Defence Cooperation Efforts, signed on September 9, 2024.”
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