Turkey’s AKP defends deployment of F-16s and air defences to northern Cyprus

Ankara, Turkey. Turkey’s ruling AKP party on Monday defended the deployment of F-16 fighter jets and air defence systems to the occupied north of Cyprus, dismissing Cyprus and Greece’s positions.

AKP says deployment is defensive

AKP Deputy Chairman and spokesman Ömer Çelik, speaking in a live interview on Turkish television channel NTV, said the deployment was purely defensive. “This step does not target anyone, it is only for security,” he said, adding that Turkey must consider the security of the occupied north given the situation in the eastern Mediterranean.

Comments on Cyprus and Greece

Çelik criticised the positions of Nicosia and Athens. “The Greek side is one of the closest parties to Zionist aggression,” he said. “We do not take seriously what the Greek Cypriots and Greece are doing.”

Growing multinational military presence around Cyprus

His remarks came as Cyprus hosts a growing multinational military presence following a drone strike on RAF Akrotiri on 2 March. Greece has deployed F-16s to Paphos and two frigates to Cypriot waters, while France, Italy and Spain have also sent naval assets to the region.

Çelik on Iran’s new supreme leader

Çelik also commented on the election of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran’s new supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts, saying no significant shift in Iranian policy should be expected. “Sooner or later, everyone will be in search of stopping this war and re-establishing the table,” he said. “It does not change Iran’s stance.”

What do you make of the competing military deployments and statements involving Turkey, Cyprus and Greece?