Turkey has denied that its fighter jets harassed aircraft carrying Greek Defence Minister Nikos Dendias and European defence ministers to Cyprus, calling reports of the incidents “entirely false.”
The Turkish presidency’s communications directorate said four of six aircraft operating on the Greece-Cyprus route on June 7 violated the airspace of the occupied north, and that two F-16s stationed there took off as a precautionary measure. The jets flew over the airspace of the occupied north and did not violate the airspace of the Republic of Cyprus, the statement said. There was no harassment.
The denial follows confirmation from Nicosia that the aircraft of the Greek, French and Dutch defence ministers were subjected to interference from the illegal Tymbou airport as they flew to Cyprus for the informal Foreign Affairs Council on defence, hosted in Nicosia on Monday under the Cyprus EU Council Presidency.
Presidential Press Office Director Viktoras Papadopoulos said the Republic had been informed by the defence ministers of Greece, the Netherlands and France that their aircraft received interference from Tymbou. In the case of Dendias, Turkish fighter jets also flew parallel to his aircraft from a distance, Papadopoulos said.
President Nikos Christodoulides called the harassment “unacceptable,” saying there was no justification. He said the targeting of EU member states — France, the Netherlands and Greece — pointed to a revisionist approach, and that he expected the matter to be discussed at the Defence Ministers Council.
Christodoulides said he had spoken with the Greek Defence Minister on the night of the incident and would meet Dendias on Monday. He said the matter would also be raised with the EU.
Papadopoulos said Cyprus intends to file formal complaints at the international level. The Defence Minister would brief EU High Representative Kallas and the European Council during the meeting, he said. He described the Turkish actions as illegal and outside international law.
Sources at the Greek Defence Ministry in Athens attributed the harassment to a broader Turkish reaction to the Cyprus-France Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) being signed on Monday, noting that the aircraft carrying the French Defence Minister received the same interference.
According to the Philenews report, similar actions by the occupation force have occurred during previous informal meetings of European officials hosted in Cyprus.
Turkey also said flights carried out on June 6 for the 115th anniversary of the Air Force Command and a “Youth and Aviation Festival” took place within the flight area of the 2nd Main Air Base Command and did not violate Greek airspace. The statement urged the public not to give credibility to the claims, which it said were aimed at manipulating international public opinion.
