Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler warned that there will be no project in the Aegean or the Eastern Mediterranean that ignores Turkey or attempts to “usurp” its rights and those of the Turkish Cypriots. He made the remark during his speech in the parliamentary debate on the approval of his ministry’s budget.

Mr. Guler assured the National Assembly that every effort is being made to “protect our rights and interests in our blue and celestial homeland,” and that “our activities in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean are being carried out effectively, in accordance with our national interests.”

The Turkish Defense Minister referred to Greek–Turkish relations, claiming that Turkey seeks to resolve the existing issues with neighboring Greece and to “develop the current positive environment of dialogue, so that the Aegean Sea may become a region of peace and stability.” However, he hastened to clarify to the National Assembly that “Turkey undertakes all diplomatic initiatives within the framework of international law and implements with determination every necessary measure, on the basis of reciprocity, against any project or initiative that Greece attempts to carry out unilaterally in the region.”(sic)

With this remark, he also issued a warning that “no project in the Aegean or the Eastern Mediterranean that ignores our country or intends to usurp our rights will be able to be realized, while we continue to defend the rights and interests of our brothers in Cyprus.”

Guler also referred to the Cyprus issue, reiterating Ankara’s now entrenched position that the only solution on the island is “the acceptance of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots,” thus rejecting a federal solution. The Turkish Defense Minister also escalated his rhetoric regarding the military cooperation that the Republic of Cyprus has been developing in recent months—to strengthen its deterrent capabilities—with Israel and other countries, claiming that such moves will increase tension and undermine stability. He pledged that “the necessary measures will continue to be taken within the framework of our preventive defense and security policy against these efforts.”