Türkiye weighs deploying F-16 jets to Turkish Cyprus

ANKARA

Türkiye is considering the possibility of sending F-16 fighter jets to Turkish Cyprus in the north of the island as a security measure, a Turkish Defense Ministry source said on March 7, days after the island was targeted by a drone attack.

"In light of recent developments, phased planning is being carried out to ensure the security of the [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus] TRNC," the source said.

"The deployment of F-16 aircraft to the island is among the options being considered," they added.

Greek Cyprus, in the southern part of the ethnically-divided island, has been directly affected by retaliatory attacks following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, with an Iranian-made drone hitting a British base on the island on March 2.

Greek Cyprus said the drone was probably fired by the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon and not from Iran itself.

Following the incident, several European countries pledged assistance to Greek Cyprus, sending air defenses and other military assets.

With the conflict raging across the Middle East, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler said there was a "very low" chance of any direct conflict between Türkiye, a NATO member, and Israel, one of Washington's closest allies.

Türkiye has frequently clashed with Israel over a range of issues, notably the Gaza war and Israeli intervention in Syria, but Güler played down fears of any confrontation between the two regional powers.

"Mounting tensions in the Middle East and the Mediterranean have significantly affected relations between Türkiye and Israel in recent years," he told Türkiye’s Posta newspaper on March 6.

"Although there is a risk of direct military conflict, we currently see the likelihood of this as very low. To prevent undesirable situations, communication channels have been set up to reduce misunderstandings on the ground."

He also reiterated calls for Türkiye to be readmitted to Washington's F-35 fighter jet program, saying it was important "for strengthening Türkiye-U.S. ties and NATO security.”

Washington booted Ankara out of its F-35 program over its purchase of an S-400 Russian surface-to-air missile defense system, saying the system could allow the Russians to spy on the stealth jet's capabilities.

Both NATO allies appear keen to resolve the dispute, but Washington wants Türkiye to get rid of the system.

"The S-400 is a system we procured to meet our air defense needs at the time.. we informed our U.S. counterparts of our intention to use it as a self-contained system, without integrating it into NATO systems," he said.

"For this reason, we still consider this option to be the most reasonable solution," he added.