Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz on Thursday travelled to Cyprus, and used his visit to warn against “the use of the island in operations targeting the Middle East”.

He said during a press conference at the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport that such operations “pose a risk to all countries in the region”, and that “the developments of the past week have made this situation even more concrete”, with the island’s British Akrotiri air force base having been hit by an Iranian-made drone on Monday.

His comments come after Cyprus was the likely launchpad as British fighter jets engaged and shot down drones flying in Jordanian airspace on Tuesday night, with the British defence ministry at the time having announced that F-35 fighter jets “shot down uncrewed aerial systems in defence of Jordan”.

Yilmaz on Thursday also expressed his distaste at the Republic of Cyprus’ calling in of military reinforcements from Greece and France, among other countries, in the drone strike’s aftermath.

“The Greek Cypriot administration’s granting of usage privileges to third countries at military bases on the island poses a risk to everyone living there,” he said, before later adding that “the Greek Cypriot administration acts as if it owns the entire island”.

“Its decisions, disregarding the will and the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriot people, along with its approach of finding a role for itself in great power rivalries, especially with recent military engagements and policies over its own bases, increase security risks for the island,” he said.

Of Turkey’s role in Cyprus, he said that “this situation makes Turkey’s responsibility as a guarantor and its historical obligation even more apparent”.

“As a guarantor and a motherland, our military presence on the island has contributed to the development of the entire island in terms of security and stability for over half a century,” he said.

He added, “Turkey’s presence has created a safer environment not only for the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriot people, but also for the Greek Cypriots living in the south”.

“There has been peace, security, and tranquillity on the island for over 50 years. Both the Greek Cypriot side and the TRNC have developed and increased in their prosperity in this environment,” he said.