Provocations in Aegean, Cyprus ineffective, says Defense Minister Akar

KABUL- Anadolu Agency

Everyone needs to avoid provocations in the Aegean, Mediterranean and Cyprus “or else the price will be heavy,” the Turkish defense minister said on Dec. 22.

“All should know that provocations in Aegean, Mediterranean and Cyprus will have no effect,” Hulusi Akar said during a visit to Turkey’s task force command post in the Afghan capital Kabul.

Akar said Turkey will not tolerate any disturbance in its territorial waters and also in Cyprus, stressing the protection of Turkish Cypriots’ rights in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Akar arrived in the Afghan capital on Dec. 21 after a  two-day visit to neighboring Pakistan.

In early 2018, the Greek Cypriot administration unilaterally launched exploratory drilling activities for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean despite strong opposition from Turkish Cypriots, who argue that the island’s natural resources should be exploited jointly.

Ankara has said Turkish Armed Forces would continue to take all necessary measures in the eastern Mediterranean.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island’s Turks and Ankara’s intervention as a guarantor power.