Newsletters
Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense (MoND) issued a sharp warning Thursday following the signing of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between France and the Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA).
Ankara called the pact contrary to the 1960 Cyprus treaties and international law. It warned that the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) "have the strength and determination to give the harshest response to hostile attitudes that threaten the security of Cypriot Turks."
The France-GCA SOFA, signed by the two countries' defense ministers, grants French military forces access to bases and military infrastructure in Greek Cyprus, expanding France's military footprint in the Eastern Mediterranean amid heightened regional tensions.
Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) view the deal as a unilateral attempt to alter the island's sensitive balance and as a direct violation of Ankara's guarantor rights under the 1960 agreements.
In its weekly press briefing, the Ministry of National Defense said it was closely monitoring "provocations aimed at destabilizing and increasing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean."
The ministry described the SOFA as an agreement signed by France, a country with no guarantor status on Cyprus, that "unilaterally aims to change the sensitive balances on the island and ignores the will and sovereign equal rights of Cypriot Turks" and is contrary to the 1960 Cyprus Treaties and international law.
"This and similar steps, which have no legitimacy whatsoever and whose consequences have not been carefully thought through, are of a nature that could lead to dangerous consequences for the south of the island," the ministry warned.
It added, "We once again remind that any military alliance targeting the rights and interests of Türkiye and the TRNC and ignoring the sensitive balances in the region has no chance of success against Türkiye. As a guarantor state, as in the past, we will continue to protect the rights and interests of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and ensure its security."
"The Turkish Armed Forces have the strength and determination to give the harshest response to hostile attitudes that threaten the security of Cypriot Turks," the statement concluded.
TRNC Prime Minister Unal Ustel also condemned the agreement, saying the SOFA posed risks not only for Turkish Cypriots but also for the long-term security of Greek Cypriots as well.
He said France's efforts to expand its military presence in the region, a country with "no historical, geographical, or political connection to Cyprus," would negatively affect the sensitive balances in the Eastern Mediterranean.
"Those acting to shift the Eastern Mediterranean balances in their favor should know very well that no initiative targeting the legitimate rights and interests of the Turkish Republic of Türkiye, a significant power and game-setter at the regional and global level, and the Cypriot Turkish people will succeed," Ustel said.
1 min read
Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides announced the SOFA's entry into force on social media, saying it contributed to the EU's common European goal of strategic autonomy.
The agreement, negotiated during French President Emmanuel Macron's April 23 visit to Greek Cyprus, allows French military assets to be deployed in Greek Cyprus under certain conditions and grants France access to Greek Cyprus's bases and military infrastructure for operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.
The agreement also covers military technology sharing, joint exercises, and strategic dialogue between the two countries.
Türkiye assessed the SOFA as a clear violation of the 1960 Guarantee Agreement, under which permanent foreign military presence on Cyprus without the consent of the three guarantor states, Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom, targets the legal and political status of the island.
In recent years, Greek Cyprus has signed military cooperation agreements, protocols, or memoranda with the United States, UAE, Czech Republic, Armenia, France, India, Jordan, Egypt, and Greece, covering military alliances, technology transfers, and the use of naval and air bases.
The ministry also rejected Greek media reports claiming Turkish aircraft had harassed a plane carrying the Greek defense minister and European ministers, calling the allegations "organized and deliberately provocative claims that do not reflect the truth."
The ministry said that on June 7, four out of six flights operating on the Greece-Greek Cyprus route had violated Turkish-Cyprus airspace, prompting two F-16s on alert duty in Turkish Cyprus to be scrambled immediately as a precautionary measure.
"Our aircraft operated in TRNC airspace and did not violate Greek Cypriot airspace and did not harass the mentioned traffic," the ministry said.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
