Erdogan: No plans for a base but to increase troops in  Cyprus

Turkey does not have plans to establish a military base in the occupied Cyprus but the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will increase its deployment of troops there, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept. 16 according Hurriyet newspaper (17/9/2018). 

“We will not decrease the number of our soldiers there but on the contrary, we will increase them,” Erdoğan said, speaking to journalists on his route from Azerbaijan to Turkey. 

The president elaborated on recent media reports proposed by the TSK to the Foreign Ministry to establish a military base in the Turkish control part Cyprus. 

“We do not have a base problem” in the occupied part of Cyprus, he said, noting that Turkey is very close to the island so there is not a problem in reaching out there. 

“It will take only minutes to reach the Mediterranean. But it does not apply to Greece. We do not need to establish a base there,” he said. 

Erdoğan recalled previous attempts for a resolution in divided Cyprus and blamed Greek Cypriots for rejecting the Annan plan.

“From now on, we will implement the prescription of our own,” the president said