Turkey will increase its military presence in the occupied part of Cyprus after the US eased the arms embargo to the country

Turkish troops plan to increase their presence in the occupied part of Cyprus in response to the fact that the United States eased the embargo on the supply of arms to the country.

This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Cyprus-Mail writes.

"The United States, which ignores and even encourages the actions of the Greek-Cypriot duo that threatens peace and stability in the eastern Mediterranean, will lead to an arms race on the island with this step," he said.

Erdogan emphasized that Turkey cannot but react to such steps and, therefore, will increase its contingent of 40,000 soldiers in the occupied parts of Cyprus.

"Everyone should know that this latest step will not go unanswered and that all precautions will be taken for the safety of Turkish Cypriots," Erdogan said.

The day before, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the country has lifted restrictions on arms sales to Cyprus for the 2023 fiscal year. He emphasized that the United States will constantly assess how well Cyprus fulfills the conditions of lifting the embargo, in particular, fights money laundering, and prohibits Russian warships from refueling and servicing in its ports. The US imposed this embargo back in 1987 in order not to harm peace talks between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

• In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) declared "independence" from the rest of the island. This led to a long conflict between the Greek and Turkish communities of Cyprus, in which Turkey intervened, occupying about 40% of the northern part of the island. TRPC has not been recognized by any country in the world except Turkey. Ankara is still spending hundreds of millions of euros to maintain Northern Cyprus. During this time, five UN secretaries-general tried to resolve the conflict and unify the island, but without success. The unification is hindered by the position of Turkey, which does not want to withdraw its soldiers from the island and is not going to let anyone near the rich gas and oil fields near Cyprus.