Pompeo heads for Cyprus as Turkey tensions rage

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will travel to Cyprus on Saturday in a bid to broker a peaceful solution to tensions with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean, Agence France Presse reported on Friday.

Pompeo will also call on Turkey to withdraw warships from disputed waters, a condition Greece has set to allow talks to take place.

The aim of the Saturday visit was to understand “the risks that are associated from the people of Cyprus’ perspective”, Pompeo said. He was speaking to reporters on his plane on Thursday ahead of meetings in Doha, according to AFP.

Political and military tensions between Greece, Turkey and Cyprus have intensified this year over disputed territories in the Mediterranean and Aegean. Relations worsened after Turkey sent the Oruç Reis research vessel, escorted by warships, to explore for hydrocarbons in an area between Cyprus and the Greek island of Crete on Aug. 10.

Athens has responded to the Turkish move by sending naval and air units to shadow the Oruç Reis and conducting military exercises with Cyprus and France, solidifying a standoff at risk of escalating into a direct confrontation.

The dispute “has to be resolved in a way that’s diplomatic and peaceful”, Pompeo said. “We hope there will be real conversations and we hope the military assets that are there will be withdrawn so that these conversations can take place.”

Pompeo’s trip comes after the United States said it lifted a decades-old arms embargo on Cyprus for the purchase of non-lethal defence equipment, outraging Turkey. Following the U.S. announcement on Sept 1, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the step did not comply with the “the spirit of the alliance” between Ankara and Washington.

The United States, Germany and NATO have sought to de-escalate the tensions between Turkey and Greece.

Pompeo is visiting Cyprus after Greece and Turkey provided conflicting accounts of the nature and success of NATO-sponsored technical meetings this week designed to end the military standoff.

“Views were exchanged at the meeting, where measures to prevent possible interventions between military elements were discussed,” the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

No dialogue was established between Greek and Turkish NATO representatives, the Athens News Agency reported citing diplomatic sources.

The Greek representative went to the office of the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee to present the country’s assessment of the NATO Secretary-General’s proposals for a possible de-escalation mechanism, the news agency said.

“There was no exchange of views,” the sources said. Ankara’s statement was “part of Turkey’s effort to present an unrealistic picture to avoid possible sanctions”, they said.

The European Union’s political leaders will meet at the end of September to discuss possible sanctions against Turkey. On Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron hosted the heads of state of six EU Mediterranean countries, who released a joint statement expressing solidarity with Greece and Cyprus.