Spain and Poland have informed the Republic of Cyprus that they are immediately withdrawing from the military exercise "Phoenix of Anatolia - 2023", which is being held in Turkey, following representations made at all levels by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus, in coordination with the Diplomatic Office of the President of the Republic of Cyprus and the Ministry of Defence.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says in a press release that this is an exercise hosted by Turkey, "which systematically and unilaterally tries to include in this type of activities the illegal separatist entity in the occupied territories".
Furthermore, it notes that the participating states did not know in advance about the participation of the illegal separatist entity.
"As a result of the aforementioned actions, Spain and Poland have informed the Republic of Cyprus that they are withdrawing from the exercise immediately," the Cyprus FM notes.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The pseudo-state in the occupied territories of Cyprus is recognised only by Turkey.
Source: Cyprus News Agency