A controversy is brewing in Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey over something as simple as a picture. The image of UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan paying tributes at the monument of Makarios III, a Greek Cypriot prelate and former President of Cyprus, who served as Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus.
Al Nahyan, who was visiting the Republic of Cyprus for the first time, last week met with the Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. The UAE President then laid a wreath at the monument of Makarios, an act Turkish media described as “treacherous”.
Turkey considers Makarios III, after becoming archbishop in 1950, propagated Enosis movement ( the idea of uniting Cyprus with Greece), also secretly directed a Greek Cypriot nationalist guerrilla organisation which allegedly perpetrated acts of terror on the island and murdered thousands of Turks.
A report that appeared in Turkish right-wing media Yeni Akit called the visit “scandalous” adding that “Sheikh Zayed Commits Treason in Southern Cyprus” while mentioning the laying wreath at Makarios. “The images that disregarded Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” Yeni Akit said.
“The scandalous photos and critical agreements signed during the visit have raised questions about whether a new front is being formed in the Eastern Mediterranean, excluding Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,” Yeni Akit said.
During his visit to South Cyprus, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan drew attention by laying a wreath at the statue of Archbishop Makarios, the political leader behind Enosis and associated with the Akritas Plan and the forced displacement of Turkish Cypriots.… pic.twitter.com/gdmab9rOTq
— Umut Çağrı Sarı (@umutcagrisariii) December 15, 2025
The report said the agreements signed between the UAE and Cyprus on defence, energy, and strategic cooperation highlighted the UAE's controversial political stance in the Eastern Mediterranean in recent times. The cordial photos taken with the Greek Cypriot leadership during the visit were evaluated in Ankara as "a step contradicting the rhetoric of friendship," the report added.
Akit also quoted experts who said the visit was not merely a diplomatic contact but signals a new lignment on an anti-Turkey axis. “These contacts, which disregard the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, are expected to further strain the regional balance,” Yeni Akit said.
Another local Turkish media outlet said Ankara considered Sheikh Zayed as a friend. “But, he went to the grave of a Turkish enemy,” a report that appeared in Haberiniz said.
