27/11/2024
If we want to be objective, the key to the solution of the Cyprus problem is in the hands of Turkey and Cyprus joining NATO is not going to change that in any way.
In any event, the "British Sovereign Bases", which are also used by the USA, offer everything NATO needs in Cyprus, whether we like it or not, and the Republic of Cyprus joining NATO is not going to add anything or benefit Cyprus in any sense.
Thinking NATO is going to put pressure on Turkey is an illusion. The only choice available (if one still exists at all) is a BBF solution and that is going to be decided in the near future or goodbye.
Make up your minds that Turkey is becoming a regional power and Cyprus cannot possibly become a "new Israel".
Cyprus can be reunited by negotiation only through compromise and real trust between the two major communities and between Greece and Turkey. In the longer term, Cyprus needs good relations and co-operation with both Greece and Turkey.
The founding president of the Republic of Cyprus, Archbishop Makarios, did the right thing in "aligning" Cyprus with the Non-Aligned Countries.
Losing more of our sovereignty, independence and bargaining power and many important friends will be the only consequence of joining NATO.
What we need is a peaceful, prosperous, federal Cyprus, without foreign armies, with only a federal defensive force, not exposing ourselves to potentially more risks by joining an aggressive alliance and becoming accessories to wars and barbarities.