Second phase of Caner Gönyeli exercise completed

The joint exercise held at sea  with military and civilian rescue craft from Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was observed from the TCSG corvette belonging to the Turkish coast guard by President Ersin Tatar, the Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre, local and foreign observers, Caner Gönyeli’s family and journalists.

Several drills were carried out on Wednesday as part of the sea phase of the annual search and rescue exercise using two corvettes, four boats, one search and rescue plane and three helicopters belonging to the Turkish and TRNC coast guards.

Speaking to the press after the exercise, the Commander of the Turkish Coast Guard Major General Ahmet Kendir said that the aim of the drills was to develop coordination and cooperation of search and rescue units of the two countries.

He said that the units had once again demonstrated to the international community that both Türkiye and the TRNC were capable of conducting search and rescue missions both at land and at sea under all weather conditions.

Major General Kendir said that the Republic of Türkiye will continue to support and cooperate with TRNC units in the future.

Also speaking, the Speaker of Parliament Zorlu Töre said that the Greek Cypriot administration needed to derive lessons from the exercise and acknowledge the fact that they cannot under any circumstances compete with the Turkish Armed Forces.

President Ersin Tatar who also delivered a speech said that the exercise had demonstrated both Türkiye’s and the TRNC’s capabilities to operate in their maritime and Exclusive Economic Zones.

Thanking the Turkish Ministry of Interior, the Coast Guard Command, the Cyprus Turkish Security Forces and the Turkish Peace Forces in Cyprus, Tatar highlighted the importance of cooperation between the two countries.

“We are trying to do everything possible to maintain the peace but we have seen just how important hydrocarbon activities are in our seas. What is most important is that we have seen what can be achieved through the cooperation of the TRNC and Türkiye,” he said.