Greek Cypriot Administration, Greece, France, Italy begin joint military exercise set to last 3 days between Aug. 26-28
The presence of French warplanes in the Greek Cypriot administration’s area is against the 1960 Treaties, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.
“FRANCE IS NOT THE GUARANTOR OF CYPRUS ISLAND”
The Greek Cypriot administration, Greece, France and Italy launched a joint military exercise earlier in the day to the west of the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean.
“The landing of the French military aircraft to the Greek Cypriot administration on the pretext of an exercise carried out with the Greek Cypriot administration, Greece and Italy, and the temporary or permanent deployment of these aircrafts on the island is against the 1960 Treaties,” Hami Aksoy said in a statement.
Aksoy said that with this attitude, France, which is not the guarantor of Cyprus Island, dangerously encourages the Greek Cypriot administration and Greece, which are responsible for the current tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, to escalate tensions further.
He reiterated that every attempt at trying to exclude Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean will result in frustration.
Turkey, and later Greece, have sent out conflicting alerts on energy exploration and military exercises in the Mediterranean.