Antalya, Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan criticised the Greek Cypriot side and Israel on Sunday over what he described as an alliance against Muslim countries, speaking in his closing address at the Antalya diplomacy forum.
Fidan’s remarks at the Antalya diplomacy forum
Fidan said Israel met with the Greek Cypriot administration and “formed an alliance against Muslim countries in the region,” adding, “We are not like Israel. They met with the Greek Cypriot administration and formed an alliance against Muslim countries in the region. We do not do what they do.”
He said Turkey was seeking “ways to extinguish the conflicts in our region, ensure economic progress, and bring stability to life.”
Fidan added that if the eastern Mediterranean region “continues to expect help from outside and wait for knights in shining armour, it will continue to be left alone with these problems.”
Turkey’s reaction and regional concerns
Asked later about relations between the Greek Cypriots and Israel, Fidan said Turkey’s “reaction” had been “minimal,” as “we never wanted to disturb the spirit of cooperation” between Turkey and Greece.
He said the matter was “not just a problem for Turkey,” adding that “while they do not say it, all the Muslim countries in the region are seriously concerned and asking questions.”
Netanyahu’s “hexagon of alliances” reference
The “alliance” referenced by Fidan was described by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February as a “hexagon of alliances” for Israel, with Cyprus named as part of that “hexagon.”
Netanyahu said, “We will create an entire system, essentially a kind of hexagon of alliances, around or within the Middle East, including India, Arab national, African Nations, Mediterranean nations – Greece and Cyprus – and nations in Asia that I won’t detail at the moment.”
He added that the aim of the “hexagon of alliances” was to “create an axis of countries that see reality, the challenges, and the goals in the same way, in contrast to the radical axes,” listing those axes as “both the radical Shiite axis, which we have hit very hard, and also the emerging axis, the radical Sunni axis.”
Eroğlu criticism by Tufan Erhurman
The Greek Cypriot side’s political gravitation towards Israel was also criticised by Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman during his appearance at the forum.
Erhurman said, “If an alliance is formed with a state which kills children, and this is done by violating the will and sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot people, I will explain this to the entire international community. This is a violation of my sovereign rights, my equal sovereign rights.”
What do you think the eastern Mediterranean should do to address growing regional alliances and tensions?