Turkey-Greece statement from Southern Cyprus: We are afraid of being dragged into a conflict

The fact that Greece sent armored vehicles to the islands of Lesbos and Samos led to a further increase in tension on the Ankara-Washington-Athens line. While Turkey gave a note to Greece and the United States on the issue, there was a statement from Southern Cyprus that drew attention to the fact that a conflict could break out in the region.

‘WE WILL BE USED AS THE WEAKEST LINK’

While the tension was increasing, a remarkable statement came from Southern Cyprus. The Greek Cypriot Administration’s Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasulidis said that they were concerned about his country being drawn into a war between Turkey and Greece. “We are afraid that a conflict in the Aegean Sea will directly affect us, because we are used as the weakest link in the whole of this story,” Kasulidis said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Ahead of next year’s elections in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hardened criticism of Greece and Western support for Athens over the Islands, Bloomberg reported.

Kasulidis described Erdogan’s statements about the “Greek threat” as “inconceivable and ridiculous” and said, “He is the one who threatens, he is the one who pursues revisionist policies.”

The lifting of the US arms embargo on Southern Cyprus the previous week had also led to a crisis on the Turkey-US line. “We strongly condemn the expansion of the scope of the decision taken by the United States in September 2020 to lift the arms embargo against the Southern Cyprus Administration (TRNC), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The Turkish Cypriot Administration (KKTC) had also used the statement “This decision taken by the US administration at the expense of increasing tensions on the island and in the region is unacceptable”.