India vows support to Cyprus's territorial integrity in response to Turkiye siding with Pakistan

Modi is currently visiting Cyprus, the first leg of his three-nation tour. This is the first visit of an Indian prime minister to Cyprus in over two decades.

Nicosia: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday conveyed New Delhi’s unwavering and consistent support for independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, and unity of Cyprus, sending out a strong message to Türkiye, which often supported Pakistan in questioning the status of Jammu and Kashmir as a part of India.

As Modi had a formal meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides of Cyprus during the second day of his visit to Nicosia, India vowed to strengthen defence and security cooperation with the Mediterranean Sea island nation, including through collaboration between their respective defence industries, with a special focus on cybersecurity and emerging technologies.

Cyprus has been one of the regional adversaries of Türkiye, which not only supported Pakistan’s plea in favour of the “right to self-determination” of the Kashmiris but also refused to accept India’s sovereignty over J&K.

Christodoulides accompanied Modi on a visit to the ‘Green Line’, a demilitarised buffer zone, patrolled by the United Nations peacekeeping force, between the Greek Cypriot (internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus) in the south and the Turkish Cypriot (recognised only by Türkiye) in the north of the island.

Modi received the "Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III”, an award of the island nation, from Christodoulides.

Türkiye sent a warship and military cargo planes to Pakistan after the April 22 carnage in J&K escalated tension between the two South Asian neighbours.

Pakistan used Axisguard Songar drones made in Türkiye to target civilian and military installations in India during the cross-border flare-up between the two South Asian nations between May 7 and 10. New Delhi recently called upon Türkiye to be mindful of the sensitivities of India and to strongly urge Pakistan to end its support for cross-border terrorism against India.

Modi and Christodoulides expressed their strong commitment to the resumption of UN-facilitated efforts to achieve a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the “Cyprus Question” based on “a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, in accordance with the agreed United Nations framework and the relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions, according to a joint statement issued after the meeting between the two leaders.

They emphasised the need to avoid unilateral actions as essential for creating a conducive environment for the resumption of meaningful negotiations.

Türkiye invaded Northern Cyprus in 1974 in response to a coup aimed at unifying the island with Greece. Türkiye did not withdraw its troops from Cyprus even after the internationally recognised government was reinstated with control over two-thirds of the island. The remaining one-third in the northern region of the island remained under a government remotely controlled by Türkiye.

Recognising Cyprus’ role as a gateway to Europe and its prospect to serve as a regional hub for transshipment, storage, distribution, and logistics, Modi and Christodoulides welcomed the prospect of Indian shipping companies establishing a presence in Cyprus, encouraging the advancement of maritime cooperation through joint ventures involving Cyprus-based and Indian maritime service providers as a means of further strengthening economic and logistical ties.