Türkiye is closely following the increasing tensions between India and Pakistan and is calling for de-escalation, Defense Ministry sources said on Wednesday after an attack in the contested Kashmir region prompted fears of a spiralling conflict between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
“We follow the Pakistan-India tensions that harm stability in Southeast Asia as well as regional security, with great alarm,” the sources said.
“It is clear that the verbal and military tension between the two countries may produce outcomes that would threaten not only the regional peoples but also the whole international community,” they warned further.
An attack targeting Hindu tourists in Kashmir that killed 26 men has triggered new tensions between India and Pakistan and sparked fears of a conflict, with Pakistan saying it has intelligence suggesting India intends to launch military action.
The massacre set off diplomatic measures between India and Pakistan that included the cancellation of visas and a recall of diplomats. New Delhi also suspended a crucial water-sharing treaty with Islamabad and ordered its border shut with Pakistan. In response, Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.
Ankara last week condemned the terrorist attack. It further rejected claims that Türkiye sent six planes of weapons to Pakistan following several media reports and posts on social media showing the photo of a Turkish aircraft in Pakistan and claiming that weapons were sent to Islamabad.
“A transport plane departing from Türkiye landed in Pakistan for refueling purposes. It then continued on its designated route,” the ministry sources added.
They continued to emphasize that Ankara understands Pakistan's security concerns and urged the parties to seek peaceful solutions while also calling on the international community to play a constructive role. "India must act responsibly, avoid steps that could escalate tensions and act within the framework of international law and diplomacy,” the sources said.
On the other side, the Defense Ministry sources also touched upon increasing hate speech by the Greek Cypriots toward their Turkish neighbors.
“It is being observed that recently, conscious and deliberate hate speech and actions against our Turkish Cypriot brothers have increased, hostility toward Turks has been fuelled and attempts are being made to revive the EOKA terrorist mentality,” the sources said.
They underlined that these developments displayed how right the vision for a two-state solution is.
“As a guarantor state, Türkiye will continue to be the guarantor of peace, tranquility and security in Cyprus within the framework of legitimate rights stemming from international agreements and international law, and will never hesitate to use the powers granted to it by the guarantorship, as it has done before,” the sources warned.
Earlier this month, fanatic Greek Cypriot groups threw stones and insulted Turkish Cypriots at the border area dividing the capital Lefkoşa (Nicosia) on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the EOKA terrorist group.
Moreover, the declaration of a new anti-Turkish terrorist group in southern Cyprus, which appears to echo the ideology of the Greek Cypriot terrorist group EOKA, which massacred Turkish Cypriots in the past, has also drawn criticism from Ankara.
Founded by Georgios Grivas in 1954, EOKA staged its first terrorist attack a year later. However, its primary objective was to fight against the British occupiers of the island in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The terrorist group began conducting more attacks and massacres against Turkish Cypriots in 1958, in line with its goals of clearing the island of Turks and uniting it with Greece.
The Mediterranean island was divided in 1974 after a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island. This led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was founded in 1983.
Meanwhile, on developments on the war against terrorism, Defense Ministry spokesperson Zeki Aktürk announced that three PKK terrorists surrendered in northern Iraq.
"Some 104 individuals, including one member of a terrorist organization, have been caught at our borders, and 1,893 individuals have been prevented from entering the country,” Aktürk added during a press briefing. “Thus, since Jan. 1, the number of those caught trying to cross our borders illegally has reached 1,666, and the number of individuals prevented has reached 27,507.”
He added that 85 kilometers (over 50 miles) of tunnels have been destroyed in Syria’s Tal Rifaat region and 95 kilometers in the Manbij region since January.
