The King of Paphos Agapinoras arrived in Cyprus by chance, when on his way home from the Trojan War his ship was wrecked near the island's coast. It is no coincidence, however, that our country's eponymous interstate exercise with Israel, which causes Turkey's intense annoyance, is no coincidence at all.
The "TAMS Agapinor 2022" begins tomorrow and will last five days and nights, focusing on the Paphos District. This is a large-scale exercise, the largest - so far - in the history of Cyprus' military cooperation with Israel. Thousands of cruisers, equipment, aircraft and watercraft have already arrived from the neighbouring country to our island for the needs of the exercise.
In recent years, many such inter-state exercises between Cyprus and Israel have taken place and all of them have caused discomfort in Ankara. But for Turkey this time is different, due to the circumstances and regional developments of recent months.
First of all, the fact that the exercise is taking place at a time when Turkey is trying to come to terms with Israel makes Ankara feel more uncomfortable. The Turkish Foreign Minister's behaviour in the meetings he had in Jerusalem during the week is indicative. Mevlut Cavusoglu reportedly raised the issue with his Israeli counterpart, asking for an explanation. He reportedly responded that it was a planned exercise, reiterating that talk of restoring political relations between their countries does not affect the chaste bilateral relations Israel has with neighboring states.
Then the exercise comes at a time of great tension, which Turkey is fostering at all levels in the wake of Mitsotakis' visit to Washington. As we have seen in the past few days, Ankara has returned to the path of extreme provocations with verbal attacks, threats and violations against both Cyprus and Greece.
What Turkish and Turkish Cypriot officials have not said in the last two months, they have said this week in interviews and statements. They consider the outrages in Varosha perfectly legal and say they will not answer to anyone for them. They are bringing back to the fore the challenge to the sovereignty and sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus in the EEZ, claiming that almost the entire maritime area around the island is ... Turkish. They oppose ENI and TOTAL's drilling in Block 6. They reject any attempt to resume talks and find a peaceful solution to the Cyprus problem. They do not accept the Confidence Building Measures proposed by the President of the Republic.
Because of this general refusal, diplomatic efforts to resolve bilateral disputes and regional energy cooperation have been frozen. Turkish officials are now trying again to project at home that Cyprus and Greece are their biggest enemies and that this side is not an obstacle to developing cooperation with all other neighbours.
Yet their enemies and their would-be partners are conducting military exercises together.
Yet their enemies and their would-be partners are conducting military exercises together. This is the biggest headache for Turkey, which this time does not know how to react. How to talk about "unacceptable provocations of the Greek Cypriots" without offending Israel. The solution to this complex puzzle is what politicians, diplomats and technocrats working for the Turkish government are trying to find. Will they succeed?
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