Ziya Öztürkler, speaker of the Turkish Cypriot Parliament, said on Monday that the Greek Cypriot administration in the divided island handed its reins to Israel.
Öztürkler’s remarks follow a renewed intimacy in relations between Greeks, Greek Cypriots and Israel. A trilateral summit of the Greek Cypriot leader, the Greek prime minister and Israel’s Netanyahu last December prompted concerns for Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). The three sides agreed to increase their military cooperation after the summit.
The Turkish Cypriot parliament speaker said the Greek Cypriot side played a dangerous game and impacted the balance on the island.
Cyprus has been split since 1974 when a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was founded in 1983, recognized only by Türkiye. The Greek Cypriot administration enjoys widespread recognition and, for a long time, pushed for the establishment of a bi-communal federation on the island. The Turkish Cypriot side, under the previous administration, rejected the idea and insisted on full sovereignty of the TRNC. The current Turkish Cypriot administration continued talks with the Greek Cypriot side to resolve their decadeslong dispute, but talks under the supervision of the United Nations did not yield any tangible results so far.
Greek Cypriots often anger Türkiye, which views the TRNC as its main partner in the Eastern Mediterranean, with their actions, such as hydrocarbon exploration in disputed maritime zones. Their alliance with Israel further irked Ankara, especially after Netanyahu’s remarks on the sidelines of the summit that “all three” was once dominated by the Ottoman Empire and hit out at “those fantasizing a return” to the Ottoman times, in a clear reference to Türkiye.
Öztürkler stated that the trilateral alliance was a step to turn the island into “an arsenal,” expressing concerns about the armament of the Greek Cypriot side, “both against Turkish Cypriots and the broader region.”
He said the TRNC was closely watching the deployment of “soldiers from other countries” to the island by the Greek Cypriot side under the pretext of military training, especially in Baf or Paphos. He also reminded that Greek Cypriots still view members of the EOKA terrorist group, which killed innocent Turkish Cypriots before the 1974 peace operation, as heroes. He added that this pointed out disrespect to the two-state solution and equal sovereignty by Greek Cypriots, and this would make progress in negotiations on the island’s status impossible.
