ANKARA: Turkiye is closely monitoring Cyprus’ reported procurement of an Israeli air defense system, Turkish officials said Thursday, warning that the move could destabilize a “fragile balance” on the divided island.
Turkish defense ministry officials expressed concerns over reports suggesting that an Israeli-made Barak MX integrated air defense system had been delivered to Cyprus.
The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with government regulations, said Cyprus’ ongoing armament efforts would threaten peace and stability on the island and may lead to “dangerous consequences.”
The Mediterranean Island has been split along ethnic lines since 1974 when Turkiye invaded in the wake of a coup that aimed to unify the island with Greece. Only Turkiye recognizes a 1983 Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in the island’s northern third where Turkiye continues to maintain more than 35,000 troops.
The Israeli ground-based system is capable of simultaneously intercepting missiles, drones and aircraft from as far as 93 miles (150 kilometers) away. Its deployment would mark a significant upgrade to Cyprus’ defense shield, which had until recently only consisted of Soviet-era weapons, such as the BUK M1-2 missile system.
Cyprus’ defense minister, Vasilis Palmas, said in an interview with The Associated Press last year that bolstering the country’s defense capacity is critical for the island nation, which is located close to the war-torn Middle East.
Turkiye regards the deployment of the Israeli system as a security threat.
In 1997, Cyprus’ plans to deploy Russian-made S-300 air defense missiles triggered a standoff with Turkiye, which threatened military action. The tensions de-escalated after Cyprus agreed to transfer the missiles to Greece.
The defense officials said that Turkiye remains committed to safeguarding the security of the Turkish Cypriots, adding, without elaborating, that all kinds of measures were being taken to ensure their safety.
Turkiye warns Cyprus’ Israeli air defense system could destabilize island
https://arab.news/nb8hj
Turkiye warns Cyprus’ Israeli air defense system could destabilize island
- The officials said Cyprus’ ongoing armament efforts would threaten peace and stability on the island and may lead to “dangerous consequences”
- Turkiye regards the deployment of the Israeli system as a security threat
UN chief visits Iraq to mark end of assistance mission set up after 2003 invasion
- Sudani said his country “highly values” the mission’s work in a region “that has suffered for decades from dictatorship, wars, and terrorism”
- Guterres praised “the courage, fortitude and determination of the Iraqi people”
BAGHDAD: United National Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was in Baghdad on Saturday to mark the end of the political mission set up in 2003 following the US-led invasion of Iraq that toppled Saddam Hussein.
The UN Security Council, at Iraq’s request, voted last year to wind down the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), by the end of 2025. The mission was set up to coordinate post-conflict humanitarian and reconstruction efforts and help restore a representative government in the country.
Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said his country “highly values” the mission’s work in a region “that has suffered for decades from dictatorship, wars, and terrorism.” He said its conclusion showed Iraq had reached a stage of “full self-reliance.”
“Iraq emerged victorious thanks to the sacrifices and courage of its people,” he said in a joint statement with Guterres.
The ending of UNAMI’s mandate “does not signify the end of the partnership between Iraq and the UN,” Sudani said, adding that it represents the beginning of a new chapter of cooperation focused on development and inclusive economic growth.
The prime minister said a street in Baghdad would be named “United Nations Street” in honor of the UN’s work and in recognition of 22 UN staff who were killed in an Aug. 19, 2003, truck bomb attack on the Canal Hotel in Baghdad, which housed the UN headquarters.
Guterres praised “the courage, fortitude and determination of the Iraqi people” and the country’s efforts to restore security and order after years of sectarian violence and the rise of extremist groups, including the Daesh group, in the years after the 2003 invasion.
“Iraqis have worked to overcome decades of violence, oppression, war, terrorism, sectarianism and foreign interference,” the secretary-general said. “And today’s Iraq is unrecognizable from those times.”
Iraq “is now a normal country, and relations between the UN and Iraq will become normal relations with the end of UNAMI,” Guterres added. He also expressed appreciation for Iraq’s commitment to returning its citizens from the Al-Hol camp, a sprawling tent camp in northeastern Syria housing thousands of people — mostly women and children — with alleged ties to the IS.
Guterres recently recommended former Iraqi President Barham Salih to become the next head of the UN refugee agency, the first nomination from the Middle East in half a century.
Salih’s presidential term, from 2018 to 2022, came in the immediate aftermath of the Daesh group’s rampage across Iraq and the battle to take back the territory seized by the extremist group, including the key northern city of Mosul.
At least 2.2 million Iraqis were displaced as they fled the IS offensive. Many, particularly members of the Yazidi minority from the northern Sinjar district, remain in displacement camps today.
