Ankara condemns deal between US national guard, Greek Cypriots

The Turkish government has condemned an agreement between the National Guard of the State of New Jersey and the Defense Ministry of the Greek Cypriot Administration, calling on the U.S. to consider its policies concerning Cyprus.

"We condemn the signing of an agreement between the National Guard of the State of New Jersey and the Defense Ministry of the Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA) within the framework of the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, under the scope of the U.S. Department of Defense, following the GCA's inclusion in this program last October," read a written statement by the Turkish Foreign Ministry on April 2.

Criticizing the U.S. for breaking the balance between Turkish and Greek Cypriots to the advantage of the latter by lifting the arms embargo, the ministry underlined that all these moves encourage the Greek Cypriot's armament.

"We call on the U.S. to reconsider this policy, which in no way serves the stability of the region, and to contribute to a just, lasting and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus issue," the ministry stressed in the statement.

"We hope the Greek Cypriot side will comprehend the fact that Türkiye, as a motherland and guarantor, will never allow any harm to come to the Turkish Cypriots. We emphasize that we will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the Turkish Cypriot people," it added.

Ankara has long been slamming Washington for breaking the decades-old balance between Türkiye and Greece as well as Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots especially by increasing its military cooperation with the latter.