Turkey criticised the US for dispatching a warship to the divided island of Cyprus on Wednesday, accusing Washington of disrupting the balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The USS Arleigh Burke, a guided-missile destroyer, arrived in Limassol, Cyprus, for a scheduled visit on Tuesday.
The Turkish foreign ministry issued a statement critiquing the move: “The steps taken in the region by the US which disrupt the balance at the expense of the Turkish Cypriot side damage [United State’s] long-standing neutral position.”
The statement is the second time in less than two months that Turkey has criticised the US for docking warships on the ethnically divided island. In April, the nuclear-powered submarine USS San Juan landed in the port of Limassol, prompting a similar rebuke from Ankara.
Turkey and Greece – Cyprus’ closest ally – are enmeshed in a series of disputes over maritime rights, the sovereignty of Aegean islands, natural gas and airspace boundaries. Greece warned in September that a Ukraine-style war could erupt with Turkey, but ties thawed with goodwill diplomacy following a deadly earthquake in Turkey and a train accident in Greece.
Source : Middle East Eye