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| Turkey complains to EU partners about France Turkey has complained about France to the U.S. and its European Union partners that a Franco-Greek Cyprus<br /> military accord in the pipeline would not only be against international agreements but also undermine the prospects of a comprehensive settlement on the island. Ankara's efforts to get clarification from France on whether the country is close to concluding a military cooperation accord with the Greek Cypriot administration haven't been fruitful, The New Anatolian learned. The Turkish move followed Greek Cypriot press reports saying that Nicosia and Paris were very close to finalizing a comprehensive military cooperation agreement. |
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| Military deal objections spurned CYPRUS and France have brushed aside Turkey's objections to a military cooperation deal between the two EU member states. Ankara has raised objections to the deal with Washington and the European Union and Turkey states that the government cannot broker military agreements with third country's as the treaties of guarantee prevent this. However, the government said it does not need anybody's approval, especially Turkey to sign bilateral agreement with other countries. |
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| France downplays proposed deal with Greek Cyprus Saturday, August 12, 2006 ANKARA - Turkish Daily News A planned military cooperation agreement between France and Greek Cyprus is no different than agreements signed with other European Union members within the framework of the 25-member bloc's European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP), said French Ambassador to Greek Cyprus Hadelin de La Tour-du-Pin while also denying reports that France is eager to have a military base in Cyprus. The draft agreement foresees granting France rights to use the Andreas Papandreou Air Base in Paphos and ports in the southern part of the island, Greek Cypriot news reports earlier said. |
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| Greek Cyprus’ “Indecent Proposal” to France 11.08.2006 It has been stated that a military agreement between the Greek Cypriot Adminis- tration and France is at the point of completion. According to the Greek Cypriot Politis newspaper, the French would be given the privilege of using the Andreas Papandreu Military Air Base in Paphos as well as Greek Cypriot harbours. The newspaper stated that, despite the advantages of the agreement for the Greek Cypriots, there are yet many disadvantages as well. According to Politis the agreement idea dates back to November 2005 when Greek Cypriot President, Tasos Papa- dopoulos, visited France and met with French President, Jacques Chirac. They had agreed that the Greek Cypriot Administration's military bases would be opened to the French Government for its fighter planes and ships to use. It has also been claimed that Turkey asked France not to sign any agreements of the kind. |
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| Another Crisis Between Ankara and Paris By Suleyman Kurt, Ankara Monday, August 14, 2006 zaman.com The “Military Cooperation Agreement” to be signed by France and the Greek Cypriot Administration has caused another rift between the Ankara and Paris administrations. Turkey reacted to the news of France’s plans to sign an agreement in the frame of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP, warning that serious troubles may erupt; but French diplomatic sources maintain “Turkey is exaggerating the issue.” Uneasy about the developments, Turkey contacted the EU, NATO, and Britain, the guarantor country for the island of Cyprus. |