Turkey’s Latest Power Grab a Naval Base in Cyprus?

Turkey’s Naval Forces Command has “submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that Turkey should establish a naval base in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.” Pictured: The Turkish Navy frigate TCG Oruçreis. (Image source: CC-BY-SA-3.0/Brian Burnell via Wikimedia Commons)

 

• The possibility of a Turkish naval base on Cyprus does not bode well for the chances of a Cyprus reunification deal, particularly after the breakdown of the July 2017 peace talks, which were suspended when “Turkey had refused to relinquish its intervention rights on Cyprus or the presence of troops on the island.” Turkey has 30,000 soldiers stationed on Cyprus, the northern part of which it has illegally occupied since 1974.
• “If Greek-Turkish tensions escalate, the possibility of another ill-timed military provocation could escalate with them… Moreover, such a conflict might open up an even greater opportunity for Russian interference.” — Lawrence A. Franklin.

Turkey’s Naval Forces Command has “submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that Turkey should establish a naval base in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” according to Turkey’s strongly pro-Erdogan daily, Yeni Safak, which recently endorsed the proposal for the base in an article entitled, “Why Turkey should establish a naval base in Northern Cyprus.”

The Russians Are Coming? Cypriots Want Russian Military Base

Marius Fotiu, head of the organization, pointed out that Cyprus is the closest EU member-state to Syria so the probability of terrorist attacks in the country is extremely high. Activists asked Anastasiades to “invite units of Russian Aerospace Forces and Navy to Cyprus territory,” according to Izvestia newspaper.

Cyprus signs deal to allow Russian navy to use ports

Russian ships were granted access to ports in Cyprus in an agreement between Vladimir Putin and Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades.

Russia’s Newest Military Base In Europe Will Be Just 40km From NATO Facilities In Cyprus

“We want to avoid further deterioration in relations between Russia and Europe,” explained Cyprus’ President Nicos Anastasiades upon reportedly signing an agreement to offer Russia military facilities on its soil (that we noted previously). The air force base at which Russian planes will use is about 40 kilometers from Britain’s sovereign Air Force base at Akrotiri, on the south shores of Cyprus, which provides support to NATO operations in the Middle and Near East regions. As fault lines within the EU widen, Anastasiades said in his interview that Cyprus opposes additional sanctions against Russia by the European Union over Ukraine, “Cyprus and Russia enjoy traditionally good relations and that is not going to change.”

Bank of Cyprus Depositors Hand Over 47.5% in Bail In-Source

ATHENS–Large deposit holders at Bank of Cyprus PCL (BOCY.CP) will see almost half of their deposits turned into equity at the lender as part of the country’s international bailout, a senior bank official said Sunday.

After an all day meetings Saturday between President Nicos Anastasiades and representatives from the country’s creditors–its euro-zone partners and the International Monetary Fund–it was decided that 42.5% of all deposits over 100,000 euros ($132,764) will be converted into shares as part of its recapitalisation plan, the official said.

Cyprus resists international pressure to sell gold reserves

Cyprus is resisting pressure from the European Commission (EC) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to sell its gold reserves to finance its “bailout.”

Yesterday the Cypriot Finance Minister said that a sale of its gold reserves was not the only option under consideration to pay down its debt and that other alternatives were being considered.

Cyprus-Greece agree to act in concert on defence matters

If you were, lets say, a sinister EU and you wanted to guarantee a supply of energy resources because you have none, how would you go about doing it?

Expanding on the relations between Cyprus and Greece pointed out by this article, one could say in a nutshell, this is how: The EU, which is ran by Germany via the “Troika”, subjugates Greece through forcing it to give up chunks of sovereign rights while simultaneously destroying the Cypriot economy for generations via bank depositor theft. While some control of both countries over their economies is retained, they forge natural relationships for a common cause (keeping Turkey and it’s revived Ottoman empire dream out of their region) that bring about resources that will ultimately be under the Fourth Reich’s EU control mechanism.

Perhaps this is too ahead-of-the-curve, but it is a very plausible outcome. Europe in general does not wish to remain dependent upon the Russian bear for all of its energy resources, nor the Middle East. This would be a life saver for them. They have no fear of economically or politically, openly raiding and plundering countries as shown in the last three years. Even if it doesn’t come under EU control, it’s also within the realm of possibility that the energy resources will be sold at very cheap prices to the EU in return for paying off country debt and regaining some sovereignty. Either way, you can look forward to the EU getting in on the action. Expect Israel to also fit into the equation as it also is a deterrence to Turkish aggression.

The Cyprus issue, energy security and the exploitation of hydrocarbon reserves in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone were examined during a meeting in Athens between the Defence Ministers of Cyprus and Greece, Fotis Fotiou and Panos Panagiotopoulos, respectively.

Fotiou also discussed with Panagiotopoulos the situation in the wider south-eastern Mediterranean region and Turkish threats against Cyprus with regard to oil exploration.

He thanked the Greek government and its people for supporting the Republic of Cyprus and for being the firm and permanent supporter of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cyprus and its economy, adding that “with hard work by both governments we can support one another and give hope and prospects to the people”.

Cyprus Bailout Gets Even Worse

The amount Cyprus will have to pay to fix its financial sector jumped by €6 billion, Cyprus announced April 11. Originally, Cyprus was going to receive €10 billion from international lenders, and raise €7 billion itself. Now, the latter figure is €13 billion.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades wrote to European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy pleading for more money, but he was ignored. Germany made it clear it was not willing to give any extra.