Cyprus’ accession to NATO: neither now, nor ever!

Statements by AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas

14 June 2022, ‘Astra’ radio station

“DISY President and presidential candidate Averof Neophytou and the ruling DISY party may have been seeking eagerly to join NATO for decades, but the Cypriot people have a different view, because it has its own bitter experience from its actions,” AKEL C.C. Spokesperson Giorgos Koukoumas pointed out on the morning program of ‘Astra’ radio, referring to the position expressed by the President of DISY on Cyprus’ accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance.

G.Koukoumas called on DISY President A.Neophytou to clarify whether he is ready to accept NATO guarantees for a solution to the Cyprus problem, because if this is the case, it means that he wants to nullify what has been discussed in the negotiations on the Cyprus problem in relation to the issue of security.

Such a position clashes with the Greek Cypriot side’s long-standing position for the abolition of guarantees, the AKEL Spokesperson added.

“Cyprus must not join any military coalition”

“AKEL’s position is very clear and timeless. Cyprus should neither now, nor ever, join any military alliances, and particularly an aggressive military alliance such as NATO,” Giorgos Koukoumas stressed.

We adhere to this position, he continued, not just as an ideological position, but as a patriotic position which, besides, is embraced by the overwhelming majority of the Cypriot people.

“A solution with NATO is categorically not a solution”, the AKEL Press Spokesperson said, recalling that “the Turkish occupation, the guarantor powers and the foreign bases on our island are all the results of NATO from which we want to rid our country. We do not want all of these to remain on our island forever under another label”.

As for the claims that NATO membership will provide security for Cyprus, Giorgos Koukoumas questioned how NATO will protect us from…NATO, given that the threat to Cyprus’ security comes from nowhere else but “the deputy chief of NATO, namely Turkey”.

“Turkey’s aggression against Greece is taking place with NATO’s blessing”

The member of the Central Committee of AKEL even cited the case of Greece as an example and called on the supporters of NATO membership to look at what is happening in the Aegean and as far as Greek-Turkish relations is concerned.

G.Koukoumas also raised the question of whether NATO has protected Greece from Turkish aggression and Ankara’s provocative actions against Greek sovereignty.

In truth, he said that this wasn’t just a case of “NATO’s tolerance”, but rather of NATO blessing Turkey’s aggressive actions.

More specifically, Giorgos Koukoumas recalled the big military exercise carried out by Turkey last week, which included scenarios providing for seizures of islands.

“Military forces of other NATO states, including the US, participated in this exercise. In other words, the NATO forces/members are practicing with Turkey engaging in scenarios against Greece and then we hear people who declare in all seriousness that NATO will supposedly protect us,” Koukoumas said.

The AKEL C.C. Spokesperson called on DISY and the supporters of NATO membership to give an example anywhere in the world where NATO has resolved an issue for the benefit of peace and international law.

“Was that the case in Yugoslavia? In Libya? Iraq? Afghanistan?” concluded the AKEL Press Spokesperson.