Lefkonico airport in breakaway northern Cyprus is becoming a large Turkish aeronautical base to be “filled” with armed unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Turkish Cypriot reports.
Turkey plans to turn the occupied airport into one of the largest Turkish bases of offensive unmanned aerial vehicles in the Eastern Mediterranean, added the reports which first appeared in the Turkish Cypriot website ‘Kıbrıs Postası’.
Cyprus is divided since a 1974 invasion by Turkey which still maintains illegally, troops in the northern part of the EU member state.
“The rights to assign and use Lefkonico airport are transferred to the Turkish army. The ‘council of ministers’ of northern Cyprus authorized the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to sign a protocol with Turkey regarding the concession of the airport, and the concession of rights of use to the Turkish Forces Command,” it said.
Turkey reportedly intends with this fleet to control the sea channels not only around Cyprus but to expand to Gaza, southern Crete and the Eastern Mediterranean.
