Filenews 12 March 2022 - by Andreas Pimpisis
The Russian invasion of Ukraine creates, in addition to the events on the ground, other parallel battles at the diplomatic level that may not directly concern the two countries. Such as, for example, the diplomatic battle in which Cyprus and Turkey have engaged in in the hope that they will have some benefit to gain. The two countries have opened another chapter of diplomatic confrontation within the EU due to developments in Ukraine.
Turkey is attempting to reap multiple benefits, politically-militarily-economically, from the war in Ukraine, presenting itself as a bridge to resolve the crisis. Cyprus, having itself bitter experience of Turkey's real behaviour, is sounding the alarm to European partners, reminding them that "what shines is not gold".
Ioannis Kasoulides has begun a diplomatic marathon in order on the one hand to highlight the Turkish games against the backdrop of the Ukrainian and on the other hand to prevent any instrumentalization of the crisis for the upgrading of the occupying regime and the creation of new faits accomplis on the island. It attempts to achieve this in two directions. On the one hand, with the letter he sent to Josep Borrell, in which he indicates, among other things, the fact that Turkey, as a member state of NATO and also as a candidate country for accession, is playing a strange game. While, on the one hand, it tries to exploit this capacity in order to seek various quid pro quo or to play the role of mediator, at the same time it avoids fully complying with decisions taken by both NATO and the EU. Nicosia's position, which is also recorded in Kasoulides' letter to Borrell, but is underlined in all contacts with foreign diplomats, is that Turkey as a candidate for accession must comply with European Union decisions to the same extent as this applies to existing EU Member States. The Cypriot government insists that Turkey should itself close its airspace to Russian aircraft.
This strange double role played by Turkey was also highlighted by President Anastasiades during his meetings and interventions at the extraordinary European Council. According to a written statement by the government spokesman, Marios Pelekanos, in his speech during the plenary session on Thursday, President Anastasiades noted that the Republic of Cyprus, "as an occupied country for almost 48 years that continues to experience the consequences of the Turkish invasion, fully understands what is happening now in Ukraine and expressed the firm support of Cyprus to the diplomatic efforts to end the war".
Anastasiades also referred to the role that Cyprus can play in transporting energy to Europe "among other things, through synergies with countries of our wider region for energy transfer to Europe". In his speech, he stressed in particular the role of natural gas as a transitional energy source and the need to diversify energy supply sources and routes "through the implementation of cross-border interconnections".
As examples, President Anastasiades cited the "electrical interconnection of the Eastern Mediterranean region with Europe as planned through Euroafrica and Euroasia Interconnectors, as well as the significant prospects that are emerging for the transfer of green energy, among others, with hydrogen as the raw material from the wider Middle East region to Europe".
The President Anastasiades "criticized", as it is reported, before his counterparts the "unacceptable attitude of Turkey not to align itself with the sanctions imposed on Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, since apart from serving its own interests, it also significantly affects the effectiveness of the measures, which ultimately aim to exert pressure in order to end the war that is raging".
Referring to the strengthening of the EU's defence capabilities "in order to be able to operate as a reliable security provider, where necessary, in the wider EU neighbourhood, which includes the Eastern Mediterranean region", President Anastasiades stressed that the relevant plans "should also take into account the threats and challenges that the European Union and the Member States face from Turkey".
Quid pro quo from Biden demanded by Erdogan
While President Anastasiades was pointing out to the partners the strange role that Turkey is trying to play, Recep Tayyip Erdogan was talking by phone with Joe Biden, attempting to get from the United States what he had been asking for until recently without finding a response.
The Presidents of Turkey and the US discussed the Russian invasion of Ukraine and bilateral issues. Perhaps Recep Tayyip Erdogan was more interested in bilateral issues than in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As broadcast by Ankara, Erdogan told his US counterpart that Turkey's role in the effort to continue the dialogue between Moscow and Kiev is important in order to prevent the crisis from escalating. He underlined that the tripartite meeting lavrov-Kuleba-Çavusoglu in Antalya, a few hours earlier, was a diplomatic success.
Biden welcomed Turkey's efforts to support a diplomatic solution to the crisis. During their telephone conversation, which lasted about an hour, the two leaders expressed concern about the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and reaffirmed their support for Kiev, according to the White House statement.
According to the statement issued by Erdogan's office, the Turkish President stressed to his US counterpart that the time has come to lift all "unfair" sanctions against the Turkish defence industry. He added that Turkey wants to buy 40 new F-16 fighter jets and modernize what it already has as soon as possible.
Ankara originally planned to acquire more than 100 F-35 fighter jets, built by Lockheed Martin, but the U.S. excluded Turkey from the program in 2019 after it acquired the Russian S-400 anti-missile systems. Turkey called the decision unfair and claimed compensation for the payment of EUR 1.4 billion. Dollars.
A few months ago it became known that Ankara had submitted a request to Washington for the purchase of 40 F-16 aircraft and equipment to modernise its fighter fleet. The acquisition of the Russian S-400s also brought U.S. sanctions to Turkey. In December 2020, Washington blacklisted Turkey's Defence Industry Directorate, its chief Ismail Demir and three other officials.
Washington has repeatedly warned Turkey not to buy any more Russian weapons systems. For its part, Ankara has said it intends to proceed with the purchase of a second batch of S-400s from Russia, which could exacerbate the diplomatic rift with the United States.
The Turkish request for the purchase of fighter jets is estimated to be difficult to be approved by the US Congress, which does not have the best feelings for Turkey in recent years. Democratic and Republican lawmakers urged Biden in October not to sell F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, expressing confidence that Congress would block the deal.
Positive sign in Ankara
Ankara's strategy does not go unnoticed by Brussels, with the European Commission putting a positive sign on Turkish actions. The Commission's foreign policy spokesman, Peter Stano, in response to a question from the CNA, said the European Commission has taken note of Ankara's efforts to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, as well as turkey's condemnation of the Russian invasion, while encouraging the country as well as all partners to cooperate in the context of the EU's response.
The question posed to Peter Stano had to do with whether Turkey fully complies with EU decisions. "More generally, Turkey has taken a strong stand, condemning the Russian attack and supporting the territorial integrity of Ukraine and co-supported the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly," he noted, adding that "these are important steps which we welcome." "We have noted the efforts made by Turkey to maintain relations and mediate between the two sides, as we saw in Antalya," he continued. "We continue to work with Turkey and all our partners, explaining the EU's response to Russia's aggression and encouraging co-operation in this context," he said.
Asked to comment on whether foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides' letter to High Representative Josep Borrell regarding Turkey's compliance with EU sanctions against Russia, including the closure of airspace, was omitted, Mr. Stano noted that "we do not comment on public communications between the High Representative and partners. If the High Representative receives a letter he always responds in an appropriate manner, but we do not provide comments on diplomatic correspondence," he added.
