The Turkish Ministry of Defense has published an official position in which it strongly condemns the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between France and the Republic of Cyprus, regulating the presence of French armed forces on Cypriot territory, reports “Türkiye Today“, BTA reports.
The ministry's statement states that the agreement between France and the Cypriot administration “aims to unilaterally change the fragile balance on the island“ and does not take into account, in Ankara's words, “the equal sovereign rights of the Turkish Cypriots“. Turkey also stresses that France does not have the status of a guarantor on the Cyprus issue and that the treaty contradicts the 1960 agreements and international law.
The Turkish ministry added that it considered these actions as “deprived of legitimacy“ and warned that they could have consequences for stability in the southern part of the island, while stating that it was closely monitoring the situation, which it described as potentially destabilizing for the Eastern Mediterranean.
The agreement was signed on Monday in Nicosia by the defense ministers of France and Cyprus. It follows political talks between Presidents Emmanuel Macron and Nikos Christodoulides held in April to facilitate the presence of French forces in Cyprus for humanitarian operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, Agence France-Presse notes.
Yesterday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also commented on the issue, saying that Turkey would react “clearly and strongly” if the rights of Turkish citizens and Turkish Cypriots in the region were affected.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, following Turkey's military intervention in the northern part of the island. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was proclaimed there, recognized only by Ankara. Despite repeated attempts at unification, the latest talks in 2017 ended in failure.