The foreign minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Tuesday said it is not "surprising" that Greek Cyprus welcomed the United States' decision to lift its arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that it is a clear sign that the Greek Cypriot leadership cannot abandon its hostility towards the Turkish Cypriot people as it seeks to destroy the TRNC.
In a written statement, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu emphasized that the statements of the foreign and defense ministers of the Greek Cypriot administration regarding the U.S. decision to completely remove arms sales restrictions on it show how eager the Greek side is to take up arms.
"It is not surprising that the Greek Cypriot leadership, which continues to reject a fair, permanent, and fact-based agreement on the island, is extremely pleased with the decision to arm it by the U.S. This satisfaction is a clear sign that the Greek Cypriot leadership, which has planned to destroy the Turkish Cypriot people in the past, cannot give up its hostility towards the Turkish Cypriot people,” Ertuğruloğlu said.
He stressed that with this decision the U.S. damaged efforts toward a possible agreement in Cyprus and instead encourages an arms race while damaging the environment of peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"The Turkish Cypriot people see the U.S.'s abolishing the arms sales restriction and allowing the export of even lethal weapons to the Greek Cypriot Administration as a threat to their existence. We invite the Greek Cypriot authorities to common sense and expect them to refrain from actions that will cause tension. He will not hesitate to take corresponding steps to ensure the security of the Turkish Cypriot people, as he did on July 20, 1974,” he said.
The Greek Cypriot administration barred Russian warships from using its ports in early March following the invasion of Ukraine.
The conditions are enshrined in the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act that the U.S. Congress passed in 2019. The law underscores U.S. support for closer ties among Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration and Israel based on recently discovered offshore gas deposits.
The U.S. enacted the embargo in 1987 to prevent a potential arms race from harming peace talks with Turkish Cypriots. Barred access to U.S. weapons, Greek Cyprus turned to Russia to procure Mi-35 attack helicopters, T-80 tanks and Tor-M1 anti-aircraft missile systems.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.'s Annan Plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Today, the Turkish side supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.
Türkiye, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots.
