Üstel: “No military plan targeting Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people is legitimate or sustainable”

Prime Minister Ünal Üstel reacted to the summit held in Israel by Greece, Israel, and the Greek Cypriot Administration which was presented as an “axis of deterrence” against Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people.

Üstel stated: “These steps are not only a sign of hostility; they are also a new and dangerous dagger thrust into the heart of peace in the Eastern Mediterranean. No military plan targeting Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people is legitimate or sustainable.”

In a written statement, Prime Minister Üstel said that they are carefully and critically observing this approach, which chooses to escalate tensions, promote military bloc formations, and pursue exclusionary policies instead of strengthening the ground for peace, stability, and cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Emphasizing that presentation of a so-called ‘Rapid Reaction Force’ of 2,500 personnel by Israel, Greece, and the Greek Cypriot Administration as an “axis of deterrence” against Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people is a clear sign of hostility, Üstel noted that this initiative is a dangerous step threatening peace in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Üstel stressed that the mentality which plunged the Republic of Cyprus into bloodshed in 1963 is the same mentality now attempting to establish an anti-Türkiye military force in the Eastern Mediterranean.