Christodoulides: "Turkey Strengthens Its Defense Industry for Its Own Interests"

The developments in Ukraine and Turkey’s participation in European defense-related meetings and collaborations have sparked a new conflict between the Cypriot government and the opposition. After Christodoulides emphasized at the European Council that “EU defense funds should be allocated to European defense cooperation,” his lack of reaction to a defense industry agreement between Turkish and Italian companies regarding UAV production was criticized by AKEL.

According to Fileleftheros, when asked about the agreement, Christodoulides responded, “This is not the first time Turkey has collaborated with an EU member state on defense equipment. Turkey is doing what is necessary to develop its defense industry for its own interests. The same applies to Italy and other EU countries.” He also noted that Spain has even stronger defense cooperation with Turkey and that Italy is following suit.

Referring to his remarks at the European Council summit, Christodoulides reiterated:

“What I said (at the extraordinary European Council summit) is that EU investments in this sector must strengthen European defense cooperation. The common conclusion and belief from the meeting were in line with this. If the EU continues its dependence on third countries for defense, energy, and raw materials, we will fail to achieve our goal of strategic autonomy.”

According to the newspaper, AKEL criticized Christodoulides for supporting the EU’s rearmament and pointed out that Turkey’s growing role within the EU, NATO, and Ukraine had not been effectively protested.

AKEL accused the Christodoulides administration of using vague statements in official documents to its advantage, interpreting them as it sees fit, and selling “wars” and “victories” to the Cypriot people. The party added, “If the government truly does not understand what is happening, the situation is even more serious.”