Peace Talks, Egyptian Troops and Israeli-Made Missiles

By Rasıh Reşat

In New York, Nikos Christodoulides said he wanted a trilateral meeting with President Tufan Erhürman. That would have required Erhürman to set aside, before the eyes of the world, his principle that he would not meet merely for the sake of meeting, even though he believed the conditions for a productive discussion were not in place. María Ángela Holguín’s subsequent statement singled out the Turkish Cypriot leader’s decision not to meet, leaving Erhürman looking rather like the defendant in a case he had not agreed to bring. A few days later, Christodoulides was preparing a very different sort of presentation for October 1: a military parade through south Nicosia.
This year’s parade is expected to be bigger than the usual annual display, with more units, weapons systems and aircraft. Egyptian troops will march, an Egyptian transport aircraft and two Greek F-16s will fly overhead, and the Israeli-made Barak MX air defence system is expected to appear for the first time.
To be clear, there is no suggestion that Israeli troops will take part. But Greek and Egyptian military elements, together with a weapon system acquired from Israel, will form quite a line-up for the 66th anniversary of a republic Turkish Cypriots helped to found.
The Greek Cypriot administration may want Türkiye to regard it as a military actor that must be taken seriously. Assembling other countries’ troops, aircraft and weapons for public display is a dangerous way to pursue that ambition on an island where trust is already in short supply. Add one more six to the 66th anniversary and someone will inevitably call the spectacle “devilish”. I would leave the numerology alone; the parade gives us plenty to discuss without it.
Some will point out that Turkish military units take part in the July 20 parades. Of course they do, just as Greek military personnel have long been present in the south and have joined its parades. What is different this year is Egypt’s participation with troops and an aircraft, alongside the expected public display of the Israeli-made Barak MX. It would be too easy to wave that away as another routine parade.
In New York, Christodoulides offers those who want peace the image of a president eager for talks. In south Nicosia, he offers those who want a show of strength a president with fighter jets overhead. He says it is too early to talk about the 2028 election. Perhaps it is, although judging by the range of voters he seems determined to please, it may be too early only to print the campaign posters.