In Greek-Turkish, the Cyprus issue and the acquisition by Turkey of new fighter aircraft were mentioned, among others, by the Turkish Minister of Defense, Yasar Guler, remaining in the known positions of Ankara for two states in Cyprus, while he rather ironically stated that “it is not necessary to have every day an activity in the Aegean”.
In an interview with CNN Turk, Yasar Guler argues, regarding the possibility of Greece acquiring fifth-generation F-35 fighters, that these aircraft do not give an advantage against Turkey in the Aegean, even saying that Turkey as a member of NATO would be happy if Greece got the F-35s. He also added that Turkey will soon have its own KAAN fighter jet, adding that “we don’t yet know where the F-35 issue with the US will lead.”
Yasar Guler said that every war means disaster and referring to Greek-Turkish noted: “We don’t want a bad relationship with any of our friends. But this does not mean that we will abandon our national interests. There are also issues on which we can agree. We now try to develop the friendship through trust building measures. It is not necessary to have an activity in the Aegean every day”.
At the same time, the Turkish minister expressed the opinion that “at this moment” Turkey’s position “is very favorable” in the Cyprus issue and even claimed that the Turkish army brought peace to the island. “For 50 years, there has been calm there,” he said specifically, and pointing out the presence of the Turkish army in Cyprus, he added that “in fact, we brought calm to the Greek Cypriot side as well. 50 years there is no conflict or war. Cyprus is our national issue.”
The Turkish Defense Minister reiterated that Turkey does not accept “any other solution than an equal, sovereign two-state solution.”
On Turkey’s request to buy fifth-generation Eurofighter fighters and Germany’s related objections, Yasar Guler commented that the Eurofighter is not an aircraft that belongs only to the Germans. “We want to buy such an aircraft and our German friends have some problems,” said, among other things, the Minister of Defense of Turkey, expressing the hope that this issue will be resolved in a short period of time. As he said, “the Eurofighter sale to Saudi Arabia can be a start.”
He also clarified that Turkey’s talks with the US about the F-16s are continuing positively and there is no problem.
Much of Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler’s interview was devoted to the planned Turkish military operation against Kurdish PKK rebels. “Our strategy is to destroy terrorism at its source,” he said, recalling that Turkey has been in Northern Iraq for five to six years. He pointed out that the PKK is retreating to the south and left spikes against Tehran, because he said the members of the organization are crossing the border of Iran, but the Iranian authorities are denying it and not cooperating.
He also lashed out at the United States for supporting the Kurdish YPG militia, which Turkey links to the PKK, in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria. “We have friends who claim that the YPG is a separate force from the PKK. They state that they are providing pilot training to the YPG, not the PKK,” he said, stressing that YPG and PKK are the same. “We are obliged to do what is necessary and we will do it,” emphasized the Turkish Minister of Defense.
He also claimed that Turkey’s goal in Syria is to maintain security on its borders, as there were daily attacks with mortars and rockets on Turkish territory that caused more than 100 victims. “We are not eyeing anyone’s land,” he said, but added that “we have demands from the Syrian regime” and concluding that Ankara will only negotiate with an elected Syrian leader: “We accept the Constitution. Vote, go to the polls, win. If you win, we say we will negotiate with you or whoever wins.”
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