ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th December, 2019) The first Turkish military drone, Bayraktar TB2, has landed at Gecitkale Airport in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), media reported on Monday.
According to the Turkish state-run Anadolu news agency, the armed unmanned aerial vehicle left Naval Air Base Command in Turkey's Aegean district of Dalaman and landed five hours later in the TRNC.
On Friday, upon Ankara's request, the government of Northern Cyprus agreed to open Gecitkale Airport for unmanned aerial vehicle flights.
The island of Cyprus is split between two communities � the Greeks and Turkish Cypriots. In 1974, Turkish forces triggered a territorial dispute by occupying the northern part of the island and subsequently proclaiming it the TRNC.
In 1983, the TNRC declared its independence but was only recognized by Turkey, triggering a dispute. Talks aimed at resolving the situation are held under the aegis of the United Nations. The latest round with the participation of the guarantor countries � Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom � failed in Switzerland in 2017. The informal trilateral meeting in Berlin on November 25 between the UN secretary general and heads of the two communities decided to resume the dialogue.
