Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has suggested that Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides’s recent NATO initiative stems from declining popularity ratings and an attempt to create a new agenda.
The discussion around Cyprus’s potential NATO membership emerged as polls showed Christodoulides’s popularity declining.
While government officials maintain that foreign policy decisions are not influenced by polling data, several analyses have suggested otherwise.
In a written statement, Tatar accused Christodoulides of attempting to “create a new agenda to regain lost support from Greek Cypriots”.
According to the Press Information Office, Turkish Cypriot media reported that Tatar advised the Greek Cypriot leader to “stop deceiving his own people, internalise the realities on the ground and respond positively to our calls for cooperation that would benefit both states, both peoples and our region”.
Tatar claimed that Christodoulides continues to capitalise on his meeting with US President Joe Biden, but having failed to achieve his desired outcome, has now pivoted to discussing NATO membership.
“NATO is not an organisation where arbitrary political decisions can be made”, Tatar stated, emphasising Turkey’s significant membership position. He referenced a recent Turkish Defence Ministry statement supporting this position.
The Turkish Cypriot leader also characterised Christodoulides’s statements as moves against Turkey, which he described as one of NATO’s most crucial members.
Tatar elaborated on NATO’s membership process, citing Article 10 of the Washington Treaty, which requires unanimous approval from all members for new admissions.
Meanwhile, National Unity Party Secretary General Oguzhain Hasipoglu suggested that Christodoulides was attempting to “salvage his image through supposed foreign policy moves”, claiming he was trying to sideline Turkish Cypriots for direct contact with Turkey.
Hasipoglu advocated for a “defence cooperation agreement” with Turkey as the most significant military and political message the Turkish Cypriot administration could send to the Greek Cypriot side, Israel, and other states.
People’s Party leader Kudret Ozersay also weighed in, warning Christodoulides that he would face disappointment regarding NATO membership, suggesting the situation would differ from Cyprus’s EU accession.
