Over the past three days, all eyes in Nicosia have been on Ankara, closely monitoring the developments at the NATO summit.

According to the Minister of Defense, who spoke to Alpha, the outcome of the summit is neutral for Nicosia, as it did not address sensitive Cypriot issues.

“Realistically and frankly, we emphasize that at this moment we face obstacles to Cyprus becoming a member of NATO, for the very simple reason that Turkey will exercise its veto.”
Vasilis Palmas

The issue of the mutual assistance clause, on which Cyprus had placed great emphasis following the attack at Akrotiri and the assistance offered to Cyprus by five EU and NATO member states, during that critical period, was not discussed at the summit.

“We did not invoke Article 42.7 there, but EU member states, of their own accord—and thanks to the excellent relationship we have—came to Cyprus and created this protective umbrella. On the other hand, the EU must have autonomy.”

Ankara sought to turn its role as host country into a strategic advantage. However, once again, Erdogan’s demand to lift restrictions on participation in the SAFE program and European Defense ran up against the casus belli.

“No, nothing has been achieved; it is unacceptable for two EU member states—one facing a daily threat and the other under occupation—to accept Turkey’s participation.”

Furthermore, Turkey did not dare to bring up the military agreement between Cyprus and France, especially in light of the major deal for Ankara’s purchase of the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defense system.

“Cyprus does not seek permission from anyone. The President of the Republic will travel to Paris on July 13 to participate in France’s national holiday, and the Republic of Cyprus will even have a military contingent present.”

Vasilis Palmas allayed concerns regarding Turkey’s intention to establish a NATO Multinational Command in Adana, which would place the Eastern Mediterranean region under its operational control.

“First, Israel will not allow this to happen; second, there are other powers in the region, so Turkey will have to overcome many obstacles to achieve what it wants.”

Watch the report by Christoforos Nestoros: