Turkey warns France that sending military aircraft to Cyprus contradicts the treaty signed to pacify the area
The Turkish Foreign Ministry warns France that sending military aircraft to Cyprus contradicts the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee signed by Greece, Cyprus, Turkey and the United Kingdom, which guarantees each of the signatories the right to unilateral action in the island's affairs in order to maintain the democratic, single, sovereign and independent state, according to the Al-Masdar News website. The organisation considers that the movements of French President Emmanuel Macron are encouraging Greece, which they hold responsible for the tension in the eastern Mediterranean, to enter into a confrontation with Turkey.
The ministry has assured that Turkey will frustrate all attempts of those who want to exclude Ankara and the Turkish part of Cyprus from the Eastern Mediterranean. For its part, the Greek Ministry of Defence has announced that Greece, France, Italy and Cyprus will carry out military exercises from Wednesday 26 August to Friday 28 August in the south of the island of Crete in the eastern Mediterranean, where tensions have recently intensified between Athens and Ankara. France is contributing three fighter planes, two frigates and a helicopter, according to the French defence minister.
The operation has been christened Eunomia and coincides with the Berlin meetings of European defence and foreign ministers. At these meetings, an attempt will be made to reach a consensus on the EU's common position towards Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"Cyprus, Greece, France and Italy have agreed to deploy a joint presence in the Eastern Mediterranean within the framework of the Quartet Cooperation Initiative (SQAD)", explained the Greek Ministry of Defence in a statement published by Al-Masdar News. The note pointed out that "tension and instability in the eastern Mediterranean have increased disagreements over issues relating to maritime domination (border demarcation, migration, influx of refugees...)". The 27 Community States agreed on Wednesday that tensions between Greece and Turkey must be reduced immediately to prevent the concentration of military forces in the eastern Mediterranean from accidentally escalating the conflict.
Germany's position is aimed at avoiding a head-on collision with Turkey, despite the fact that the German Defence Minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, has recognised that the situation is very tense and that this conflict cannot be resolved overnight. In Berlin, the EU's High Representative for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, will propose various ways of trying to bring the situation under control with Erdogan, which could include extending sanctions if Turkey insists on continuing with the gas exploration in the waters requested by Cyprus and Greece. Mr Borrell is also in favour of avoiding a direct clash with Turkey and advocates a diplomatic solution.
"We all agree on the need for détente as soon as possible", said the German Minister of Defence, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, at a press conference following an informal meeting with her EU counterparts in Berlin, taking advantage of Germany's presidency of the European Council during this six-month period. Kramp-Karrenbauer warned that "many fear" that the "tense situation" currently being experienced in the eastern Mediterranean, with cross-political accusations and military manoeuvres, "could lead to an escalation" of tension. Despite the EU's attempts to stop the military escalation, Turkey has announced that it will carry out further military manoeuvres in the area.