Satisfaction prevails in Turkey after its exclusion from the European SAFE program, with Turkish media attributing the development to Greece and Cyprus.

The Cumhuriyet newspaper reports that “Greek Cypriots veto Turkey’s participation in the SAFE programme, noting that Turkey’s application to join the programme, which aims to boost its defence industry, has provoked strong reactions in Brussels. The publication, citing diplomatic sources, said an EU member state has blocked the process, and despite Berlin’s efforts to mediate, no solution has been found.

The report also refers to the stance of the Republic of Cyprus, which has expressed a clear position on SAFE. President Nikos Christodoulides said that “our position on the participation of third countries in the SAFE financial instrument has been adopted”, stressing that “no country that occupies territories or threatens the security of member states can benefit from European financial instruments in the field of defence and security”.

Cumhuriyet links the Cyprus and Greek veto, noting that Nicosia’s position followed the Greek Foreign Ministry’s reminder of the casus belli. According to the paper, Greece has said it will veto Turkey’s participation in SAFE unless the 1995 decision of the Turkish National Assembly, which declared the extension of Greek territorial waters to 12 miles as an act of war, is revoked.

Greek Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Lana Zohiou reportedly said that “as long as the casus belli decision is in force, Greece will not accept Turkey’s participation in the SAFE program” and that the revocation of this decision is a precondition for the start of any negotiations.