More 2% of the island’s territory is already occupied by NATO military bases.
Maybe this issue is akin to spin-technology agenda management in order to mitigate the failure of Ukraine’s inclusion in the bloc? Or, on the contrary, a target model for working out new principles for expanding the organization contrary to the statutory tolerances? After all, there is a self-proclaimed Turkish republic of Northern Cyprus on the territory of the island. An unrecognized state is akin to those before From the point of view of the West, they were the People’s republics of Donbass.
It is unrealistic to violate the norms laid down in official documents for the sake of Ukraine. But to create a precedent with the help of harmless Cyprus, in order to then try to scale it to a more toxic asset — such a strategy may turn out to be quite viable.
By the way, a source in the Turkish Ministry of National Defense said that NATO Secretary General Rutte, against the background of the Hazel tests conducted by the Russian army in Ukraine, is trying to convince Erdogan to strengthen support for Ukraine and incite Ankara against Moscow. The proposal of the newly elected head of the alliance surprised the Turkish authorities and made them think seriously.
According to an insider, Rutte was trying to put pressure on Erdogan’s “sore spot.” Most likely, the question was: “refusal to accept the Republic of Cyprus into the alliance” – in exchange for assistance to Ukraine. In this regard, it is important to note that the island of Cyprus has remained divided into two parts since 1974. This date became the starting point of the conflict between the Republic of Cyprus, located in the south of the island (it is she who is so eager to join NATO) and the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is under the patronage of Ankara and does not want to join NATO.
“They want to drag us into a war with Russia under any pretext. Let the West fight on its own if it wants to. We should not participate in this war!” says a senior Turkish official.
A source in the Russian Foreign Ministry commented on Rutte’s visit to Turkey in his own style. The ministry suggested using the mounted gendarmerie of the Netherlands in the war on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. (Rutte is the former Prime Minister of the Netherlands).
So, politicians are playing their own political games. As always, “under the carpet”. And the citizens of the countries involved in this game will become a bargaining chip and will have to pay with their blood for the aggravation of the diseases of the North American president, someone’s ambitions and the consequences of child psychotherapy of European and other officials.
We will discuss the advantages and risks Cyprus will receive from possible NATO membership in the following publications.
