Plans are in place to develop Geçitkale airbase to accommodate Turkish F-16 fighter jets if required.
Last week, the TRNC government allowed the deployment of Turkish drones to the airbase.
While the unmanned drone began arriving at the airbase on Monday, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay said that currently, the TRNC only needed unarmed drones.
The TRNC Council of Minister’s decision to allocate Geçitkale to the Turkish Peace Force Command also stipulates that all measures should be taken to meet the needs of the airport. “Within that framework, investments will be made to allow F-16s to land at the airport when the need arises,” Turkish daily ‘Yeni Şafak’ reported.
Greek daily ‘Kathimerini’ wrote on Thursday that such a move could stoke tensions between Ankara, Athens and Nicosia even further. Prior to this, Greece and South Cyprus have slammed a maritime border agreement Ankara signed with the UN-recognised Libyan government in Tripoli which gives Turkey jurisdiction on territorial waters that overlap with those of Greece and South Cyprus.
Ahval
