Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu voiced concern over Israel’s growing presence in the Greek Cypriot-administered south, saying expanding military ties could undermine security on the divided island.
Ertuğruloğlu made the remarks during a meeting with Turkish journalists in Washington, D.C., as part of his U.S. visit following the U.N. General Assembly meetings.
Responding to a question about the impact of the Greek Cypriot administration’s growing military ties with Israel and other countries on security on the island, Ertuğruloğlu said Turkish Cypriot authorities were concerned about Israel’s increasing involvement.
"We are, of course, not pleased with Israel becoming so influential in southern Cyprus,” he stated, "This is a relationship that puts the island’s security at risk.”
He also criticized the Greek Cypriot administration’s military cooperation with France, U.S. arms sales and military training, as well as British policies involving its bases on the island.
Ertuğruloğlu said such developments risked disrupting stability but argued that Türkiye had taken necessary measures to preserve the military balance.
He emphasized that Turkish Cypriots remained confident about their security despite regional tensions, citing the presence of Turkish forces on the island and Türkiye’s role as a guarantor.
Two-state position unchanged
Ertuğruloğlu further noted the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would maintain its current foreign policy position on the future of the Cyprus issue, reiterating its call for two sovereign, equal states with equal international status.
"The point we have reached in foreign policy is final: two sovereign, equal states with equal international status,” he said. "There is no option of establishing a new partnership with the Greek Cypriots. That is over.”
He underlined that Turkish Cypriots had previously attempted to establish a partnership with Greek Cypriots, referring to the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960 and the intercommunal violence that began in 1963.
Ertuğruloğlu argued that the Greek Cypriot side’s approach to the Cyprus dispute had not changed and said the international community’s policies encouraged it.
He also pointed to military cooperation between the Greek Cypriot administration and Israel, as well as the expected participation of U.S., British and French military personnel in anniversary ceremonies in southern Cyprus.
Ertuğruloğlu said future relations on the island could instead be based on good, neighborly ties between the two states.
"There can now be neighborly relations on the island,” he said.