Erdoğan: Türkiye Will Take “Every Step” to Defend TRNC, Warns on Foreign Troops in Cyprus

By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in Ankara on April 16 that Türkiye is ready to take "every step" to defend the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), warning during a meeting with TRNC President Tufan Erhürman that foreign military deployments to the island must not become permanent.

According to an official readout, Erdoğan said military elements sent to the island by some European countries under the pretext of the Iran conflict should not remain on a lasting basis. He also said Türkiye would not allow the rights and interests of Turkish Cypriots to be undermined.

The remarks came amid heightened sensitivity around security and activity in and around the buffer zone. As Bosphorus News reported following the United Nations has stepped up patrols and engagement on the ground, underlining the fragility of the situation and the potential for localized developments to carry wider implications.

Ankara's language on Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean has also hardened in recent days, extending beyond the immediate developments on the island. As Bosphorus News reported on Hakan Fidan's warning over the Greece-Cyprus-Israel defence axis, the foreign minister said on April 13 that such cooperation would "bring more problems" and "bring war."

Erdoğan's warning on foreign military presence and Fidan's remarks on regional alignments point in the same direction, reflecting a more explicit Turkish position against what it sees as emerging security configurations around Cyprus.

The meeting with Erhürman brought together senior Turkish and TRNC officials in Ankara, including Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization chief İbrahim Kalın, Presidential Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, Chief Foreign Policy and Security Adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç and senior presidential adviser Zafer Çubukcu.