Turkish Cypriot PM condemns Israel-Greece-Cyprus summit as new threat

The Prime Minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ünal Üstel, has forcefully denounced a high-level summit held this week between Israel, Greece, and the Greek Cypriot administration, labeling it a provocative act that threatens regional peace. In a sharply worded statement on Tuesday, Üstel warned that the meeting signals a turn toward confrontation and criticized reported plans to establish a joint military force as a direct threat to Turkish Cypriots and to Türkiye's interests in the Eastern Mediterranean.

A "Dangerous" Proposal for a "Rapid Intervention Force"

At the heart of the TRNC government's concern are detailed reports emerging from the Jerusalem summit about the potential creation of a 2,500-strong "rapid intervention force." Prime Minister Üstel stated this force is being explicitly framed by the participants as a deterrent against Türkiye and Turkish Cypriots. He described the proposal as a "new and dangerous threat" that seeks to transform the Eastern Mediterranean "from a zone of peace into an arena of conflict." He argued that such a military buildup threatens the security of the entire region, not just the island of Cyprus.

Accusations of Hypocrisy and Historical Parallels

Üstel launched a broadside against the Greek Cypriot leadership, accusing it of a "hypocritical approach" by presenting itself internationally as committed to a settlement on Cyprus while simultaneously pursuing military alliances aimed at Ankara. "This clearly demonstrates how detached they are from the realities on the island," he said. Marking the anniversary of the 1963 "Bloody Christmas" attacks on Turkish Cypriots, Üstel drew a direct line from past violence to current politics, stating, "The mentality that plunged the Republic of Cyprus into bloodshed in 1963 is the same mentality that today seeks to establish an anti-Türkiye military force."

A Firm Rejection and a Warning of Inevitable Failure

The TRNC Prime Minister concluded with an uncompromising message on sovereignty and alliance. He stressed that the TRNC and Türkiye are "inseparable" and issued a stark warning to the summit participants. Üstel declared that any military plan, energy project, or political alliance that ignores the rights of Turkish Cypriots and Türkiye or seeks to exclude them from the Eastern Mediterranean—a region Ankara refers to as the "Blue Homeland"—is "doomed to fail from the outset." His statement underscores the deep rift in Cypriot politics and the potential for any new regional security architecture to exacerbate, rather than ease, long-standing tensions.