France and Cyprus to sign defense pact for French deployment to island
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France and Cyprus will sign on Monday a status of forces agreement allowing Paris to station troops on the Mediterranean island, two senior Cypriot government officials told POLITICO.
The agreement will be signed by French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin and Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas in Nicosia, as both will attend the informal European Foreign Affairs Council meeting in its defense configuration the same day.
The agreement “will provide for the presence of French forces on Cypriot territory, strictly for humanitarian purposes, as part of the enhanced cooperation we have with the French government,” according to Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides.
The agreement will define the terms under which French forces can be stationed, train and operate in Cyprus while respecting national sovereignty. It will cover military coordination and interoperability, defense technology and industry links, joint military exercises and educational activities, personnel exchanges and administrative arrangements for forces operating on each other’s territory.
The agreement has stirred controversy since plans for it were announced in April by Christodoulides during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron to the island.
Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south since Turkish forces invaded in 1974 in response to a coup backed by Greece. Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, which is an EU member country recognized internationally as the sole sovereign authority over the whole island. The Turkish Cypriot north is recognized only by Ankara.
The Turkish Cypriot administration declared the agreement null and void soon after it was announced and expressed concerns that it could alter the balance of power on the island, disregard the rights of the Turkish Cypriots and create tensions. The Turkish Cypriot administration also argued that the Republic of Cyprus lacks the authority to sign such an agreement on behalf of the island as a whole.
