Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman has convened an extraordinary meeting of the “security council” to conduct an extensive assessment of regional developments and the security issues arising from them. According to reports in the Turkish Cypriot online press, the emergency session was scheduled for Monday at 14:00.
At the same time, the “prime minister”, Ünal Üstel, visited the offices of the civil defence. In statements following the meeting, Mr Üstel said that emergency plans and the coordination of the services in the north were reviewed in light of the escalating military tension, making reference to yesterday’s incidents targeting the British Bases.
Mr Üstel also criticised both the United Kingdom and the Republic of Cyprus. He claimed that security balances in the Eastern Mediterranean are highly sensitive and argued that the active use of the British Bases for military operations by third countries effectively makes Cyprus “part of the conflict”. He further accused the Greek Cypriot side of granting “additional privileges” to the armed forces of other countries, asserting that this places the entire island at risk and turns Cyprus into a “forward outpost.”