Turkey planing naval base in occupied Cyprus, newspaper reports

Turkey plans to build a naval base in the occupied north of Cyprus, Yeni Safak newspaper said on Tuesday.

The paper, which is closely affiliated to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said that the Turkish Navy has already submitted a request to the Foreign Ministry to begin procedures to find an “appropriate” spot on the island to build the base.

The paper said the base was necessary as other countries – including the UK, US, Spain, Italy, Canada, Denmark, Portugal, Belgium, Germany and Greece – are using the war in Syria as a pretext to maintain a presence in the East Med.

Analysts say that if the report is confirmed, it could compromise efforts to resolve the Cyprus dispute.