A Turkish landing plane landed in northern Cyprus, where it will be stationed in an atmosphere of extreme tension between Turkey and other countries in the eastern Mediterranean over gas exploration.
The head of the Turkish Defense Industries Department, Ismail Demir, said today, Monday, that the first unarmed marched Turkish plane, "Bayrakdar TP2", took off from an airport in Mugla province in western Turkey and landed at Gchiktale airport.
Demir Oran News Agency stated that what is known as the government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, on Friday, identified Gıcekale Airport on the island as a base for both armed and unarmed drones in response to a request from Turkey.
The deployment of these aircraft comes in an atmosphere of acute tension in the region over gas exploration, after the signing of an agreement at the end of November defining the maritime borders that had been the subject of a dispute between Turkey and Libya.
Cyprus, Greece, the European Union, the United States, Egypt and Israel are opposed to energy exploration activities being carried out by Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.
While the Turkish Foreign Ministry confirmed - in several statements - that Turkish ships are exploring the continental shelf of the country, and will continue its activities.
The Turkish-Libyan Maritime Agreement was considered a response from Ankara to establish an Eastern Mediterranean forum on gas in January, from which Turkey was excluded during a meeting in Cairo between representatives of Egypt, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian territories.