In a move interpreted as a “gift” to António Guterres, against the backdrop of his upcoming visit to Cyprus amid the provocative celebrations of the pseudo-state, Tayyip Erdoğan canceled his in-person attendance, despite having announced it about a month ago.

Instead, he is sending the pseudo-state’s representative in Ankara, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, to the celebrations.

Contradictory messages

However, even Yılmaz, who was in the occupied territories a week ago to sign an agreement with the pseudo-state on the construction of a natural gas pipeline, struggled a few days ago to speak clearly about two states.

However, there is no doubt that during the provocative celebrations, which will culminate in a parade at 6 p.m. on Monday, Yilmaz and the pseudo-government will highlight the issue of the Turkish pipeline.

Just as the Turkish press is already doing.

“Work has already begun on the construction of a natural gas pipeline that will connect Turkey with the occupied territories.The pipeline will have a total length of 100 kilometers, 97 kilometers of which will be underwater, and its annual capacity will reach 10 billion cubic meters of natural gas,”
Sabah

Sabah maintains that, in the first phase, it will transport natural gas from Turkey to the Occupied Territories, while in a second phase, it could be used to channel potential natural gas reserves from the Eastern Mediterranean through Turkey to European markets.

War Against Europe

At the same time, and while Ankara is theoretically courting the European Union, nationalist circles are launching a full-scale attack on European institutions.

A new episode in this saga is the memorandum of understanding published by Brussels, which clearly states that the Union continues to expect Turkey to commit unequivocally to good-neighborly relations, including the renunciation of any threat of the use of force.

“The European Union is adopting one-sided rhetoric and ignoring both international law and ‘historical realities.’”
Burhanettin Duran – Spokesperson for the Turkish Presidency

Submarines and frigates

And while Erdogan may not attend the celebrations after all, the presence of the Turkish Armed Forces will be as strong as it is every year.

On this somber anniversary, the following vessels will arrive in the occupied territories: the submarine Inonu, the warship Zipkin, and the frigate Gokova, which will be open to the public for visits, while Turkish fighter jets will fly over during the parade.

Watch Giorgos Georgiadis’s report: