Ankara shrugs as Greece, Cyprus try to block Turkey from $170B EU defense scheme
The European Union faces fresh tensions as Greece resists Turkey’s effort to tap into a $170 billion defense fund, highlighting long-standing regional disputes.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis remains opposed to Turkey’s proposed participation in a European scheme meant to bolster the European Union’s defense capacities amid the Trump administration’s mixed signaling over NATO.
“Our position is that countries that threaten EU member states with war cannot participate," Mitsotakis said, without mentioning Greece’s historic foe, Turkey, by name. The Greek premier was speaking at a joint news conference with European Council President Antonio Costa in Athens on Monday. Greece’s protege and fellow EU member Cyprus rejected NATO member Turkey’s formal bid to join the proposed credit arrangement, named SAFE.
“If a third country violates in some way the security interests of one of the EU member states of the EU as a whole, there is a possibility of being excluded from participation in the program," a Cypriot government spokesperson said on Friday.
The Turkish third of the island has remained under Turkish occupation since 1974, when the Greek-led administration sought to formally become part of Greece. Territorial disputes in the Aegean Sea also continue to dog relations between Turkey and Greece, and more recently with Cyprus over energy exploration rights in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
