PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE
18/9/2018
A “retired senior naval officer” comments on Erdogan’s statements on the “establishment of Turkey’s naval base” in Cyprus
Turkish daily Milliyet newspaper (18.09.18-http://www.milliyet.com.tr/emekli-tumamiral-gurdeniz–siyaset-2744220/) reports that the “retired senior naval officer”, Cem Gurdeniz, in exclusive statements to the paper, commented on statements made by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey will increase and not decrease the number of Turkish troops in Cyprus and if necessary, as he said, they would establish a naval base in the “TRNC”.
Commenting on the above statements by Erdogan, Gurdeniz stated that he was supporting the idea for the establishment of a naval base in the “TRNC”, right from the start. He further alleged the following: “The increase of the number of Turkish army in Cyprus, rather than decreasing it, is a very important and strategic statement since it would be comforting not only for Turkey’s future but also for the geopolitical point of view. The establishment of a naval base in the Eastern Mediterranean is extremely important in terms of the capacity for emergency intervention”.
Claiming that the existence of a naval base is not only a psychological matter, he argued that Turkey should establish a naval base in order to be able to ensure the infrastructure of its “territorial existence” in the island and the reinforcement of its strategic security forces.
Gurdeniz alleged further that the establishment of a naval base in the “TRNC” would be very important also taking into account the energy policies experienced in the Eastern Mediterranean. “In a strategic geographical place where there are conflicts for energy and interests, the accomplishment of an emergency intervention is very important. The rapid intervention for defence, security, and environmental disasters should be thought”, Gurdeniz said.
Pointing out that Tasucu port in Turkey’s Mersin district is the closet port with the “TRNC”, Gurdeniz argued that although Tasucu is close they do not have base there. He added that the closet naval base of Turkey which is connected with Cyprus is Aksaz naval base. He also added that the Eastern Mediterranean is connected with the Aksaz Base as well and claimed that the establishment of a naval base by Turkey would enable Turkey to reinforce not only its corps troops but also its naval forces.
source:https://www.pio.gov.cy/en/επισκοπηση-τουρκοκυπριακου-και-τουρκικου-τυπου-αρθρο.html?id=172
