2024-07-22 01:55:50
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Sunday that his country is ready to establish a naval base in northern Cyprus “if necessary.”
“If necessary, we can build a naval base and facilities in the north,” Erdogan said on his plane back from Cyprus. “We also have the sea,” he said, accusing Greece of seeking to establish a similar base on the island.
He continued: We do not see it possible to start a new negotiation process in Cyprus without creating an equation in which both parties (Turkish and Greek) sit at the table on an equal footing, expressing his displeasure at the Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias’ description of the Turkish presence on the island of Cyprus as an “occupation,” and stressed that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis must hold his Defense Minister to his limits.
On Saturday, Erdogan expressed his country’s readiness to negotiate and ensure peace in Cyprus, stressing that a federal solution is no longer possible on the island, which has been divided into two parts since 1974.
“No solution can be reached by ignoring the facts in Cyprus, and we believe that a federal solution is not possible on the island,” Erdogan said in a speech at an event marking the 50th anniversary of the military “peace operation” in Cyprus.
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2024-07-22 01:55:50