Greece and its government will “support Cyprus’ choices” regarding the question of whether or not it will join Nato, the country’s Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis said on Tuesday.

“As far as Nato is concerned, Greece will naturally support Cyprus’ choices. We continue to believe that any enlargement creates conditions for greater resilience and solidarity,” he said during a joint press conference with his German counterpart Johann Wadephul.

During the same press conference, he said that “the security of the European Union is inextricably linked to the situation in the Middle East”, adding to this end that “our support for Cyprus is tangible through our defence assistance”.

Despite this, however, he stressed that “Greece does not intend to get involved in the war which is currently unfolding” and also called on the European Union to “manage these unprecedented situations and rise to the occasion”.

“The last four years have shaken the European Union and acted as a catalyst, readjusting policies and accelerating decisions, so that Europe becomes strategically autonomous, competitive and stronger,” he said, referring to the four years since Russia invaded Ukraine.

The question of whether Cyprus should join Nato has drawn and divided opinions in Greece, with the country’s former prime minister Alexis Tsipras having warned earlier this month that such an eventuality would “only lead to new dangers”.

“Obviously, it goes without saying that we should respond to Cyprus’ request for defence support,” he said of naval and air assets sent to the island and its vicinity in the aftermath of the island being hit by an Iranian-made drone, adding that “we did it right”.

However, he said, “at the same time, it is irresponsible to give a line to media outlets which talk about Greece as a guarantor power [of Cyprus] and for the activation of the united defence doctrine”.

“The war in the region should not be a reason to abandon the solution to the Cyprus problem or to consolidate the partition. On the contrary, it should be a warning bell, to fight for a reunited and federal Cyprus, without guarantors and occupying troops,” he said.

As such, he said, “Cyprus’ accession to Nato can only lead to new dangers. This prospect cannot bring any security or stability to the long-suffering Cyprus”.

Previously, former European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas had drawn the opposite conclusion.

“I would like to propose a next step which would significantly enhance the prospect of stability in southern Europe. I think that this is perhaps the best possible link that Cyprus would ever have, to request, officially and urgently, the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to Nato,” he said, before adding, “this is the moment”.

He said that Cyprus is “the only non-Nato member on the frontlines of this geopolitical turmoil”.

“Turkey is a Nato member. Greece is a Nato member. But Cyprus is not. Therefore, in addition to the European offer of defence, security, solidarity, and stability to [Cyprus], I think that this moment is an excellent political opportunity for [Cyprus] to seek Nato membership,” he said.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had said last December that joining Nato “would be a natural development” for Cyprus.

“If it were possible for Cyprus to apply tomorrow and receive a positive response from all member states, we would do so”, he said, though he did acknowledge that with the Cyprus problem remaining unresolved, Turkey would veto a Cypriot application to join Nato at present.

“For this reason, we are working methodically to strengthen our military to bring it up to the level of other Nato members, while we wait for the political conditions to be met for us to join the organisation,” he said.

He added that Cyprus “already has a clearly defined foreign policy, with a strong orientation towards the west”.

The question of whether Cyprus may join Nato was raised in 2024 after Christodoulides met then United States President Joe Biden at the White House, with Greek newspaper Kathimerini at the time reporting that Christodoulides had presented a plan for Cyprus’ future accession to Nato at that meeting.

After his visit to the White House, Christodoulides said that Cyprus is getting ready to join Nato if and when Turkey withdraws its objections.

Later, Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos that public debate over whether Cyprus should join Nato is “premature”, adding that the government is “working to increase our compatibility with Nato member states, and Nato members include Greece and France – countries with which there is a traditional cooperation”.