One of China’s most anticipated annual floral events, the 2026 Shanghai International Flower Show, has quickly become a viral online sensation, drawing thousands of visitors and widespread social media attention just days after its official launch. The event’s Pudong branch kicked off on April 18 at Taikoo Li Qiantan, a popular commercial and leisure complex located along the banks of the Huangpu River. Visitors to the Qiantan venue are greeted with immersive displays that blend creative floral design with urban riverside scenery: striking animal-shaped botanical installations stand alongside layered riverside floral arrangements, creating an endless sea of blooms that stretches along the waterfront. This visually stunning transformation has turned the Qiantan district into one of the most sought-after travel and photography hotspots in the city, with thousands of user-generated photos and videos spreading rapidly across Chinese social media platforms. Unlike previous iterations that centered on a single main venue, the 2026 festival has expanded to a citywide scale, with designated viewing areas and pop-up floral displays installed across multiple Shanghai districts. The event will run through May 10, giving both local residents and domestic tourists more than three weeks to explore the blooming installations across the city. Through this citywide expansion, the annual flower show has turned the entire metropolis of Shanghai into an open-air romantic garden, blending natural beauty with urban life to create a one-of-a-kind seasonal experience for all attendees.
作者： admin
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Rumen Radev looks set to win Bulgarian Parliamentary election
Bulgaria’s eighth general parliamentary election in five years has delivered a decisive early lead to former president Rumen Radev and his newly formed Progressive Bulgaria party, according to national exit polls released after voting closed Sunday.
Initial exit poll data puts Radev’s party at 37% of the vote, more than double the 16% support captured by its closest competitor — former prime minister Boiko Borisov’s long-dominant GERB party. Between three and four additional smaller political groups are on track to clear the 4% electoral threshold required to claim seats in the new unicameral parliament.
This snap election was triggered after the previous ruling coalition pushed through a deeply controversial budget proposal last December, which sparked large-scale public protests across the country that Radev — then serving as head of state — openly supported. In his first victory address to supporters Sunday evening, Radev framed the results as a clear rejection of Bulgaria’s established political order. “People rejected the self-satisfaction and arrogance of old parties and did not fall prey to lies and manipulation. I thank them for their trust,” he said, outlining a vision of “a strong Bulgaria in a strong Europe.”
He added that the European bloc currently demands “critical thinking, pragmatic actions and good results,” particularly when it comes to forging a new regional security architecture and rebuilding European industrial power and global competitiveness. “That will be the main contribution of Bulgaria to its European mission,” he said.
The 62-year-old incoming party leader, a former MiG-29 fighter pilot and ex-commander-in-chief of the Bulgarian Air Force, stepped down from his nine-year presidential post in January to launch his new political movement. Widely characterized as a pragmatic figure with soft pro-Russian leanings, Radev has repeatedly criticized EU sanctions on Moscow, called for sustained constructive dialogue with the Kremlin, and remains firmly opposed to direct Bulgarian military aid to Ukraine. His campaign centered heavily on domestic priorities: vowing to root out systemic corruption and end five years of fragile, short-lived coalition governments that have repeatedly collapsed and triggered repeated snap elections.
While Sunday’s projected result marks a historic upset for Bulgarian politics, it falls short of delivering Radev’s party a parliamentary majority to govern alone. Radev confirmed Sunday evening that he will immediately begin negotiations with other parties to form a stable governing coalition.
Beyond domestic policy, Radev’s victory has sparked analysis of his potential impact on European defense and Ukraine support. Bulgaria already acts as a key supplier of ammunition and explosives to Ukraine via third countries, most notably neighboring Romania, and the ongoing war has revitalized the country’s post-Soviet defense industry, which had struggled for decades after the collapse of the Eastern Bloc.
Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Radev has openly opposed the transfer of Bulgaria’s stockpiled Soviet-era weapons to Kyiv, arguing that such supplies only prolong a conflict that Ukraine cannot win — a position that aligns closely with that of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Yet despite this public stance, Radev has positioned Bulgaria to become a core part of Europe’s expanding defense production ecosystem. In October 2025, German defense giant Rheinmetall announced a €1 billion joint venture with Bulgarian state-owned arms manufacturer VMZ, based in the town of Sopot roughly two hours east of Sofia. The partnership will scale up production to 100,000 NATO-standard 155mm artillery shells annually, and also includes plans to construct a dedicated new gunpowder production facility in Sopot. Rheinmetall will hold a 51% controlling stake in the new venture, which forms part of a continent-wide push to ramp up military output after years of underinvestment.
Radev has already sought to claim credit for the deal, having invited Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger to Bulgaria in March 2025. During an August 2025 visit to Rheinmetall’s headquarters in Unterluss, Germany, he noted that “Bulgaria is becoming part of the European defence ecosystem.”
Political analysts expect Radev’s approach as prime minister will mirror that of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico: he will remain publicly critical of broad EU military support for Ukraine, but will not block private domestic defense manufacturers from producing and supplying arms to Kyiv through existing third-party supply chains.
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Axe falls: Dragons expected to sack Shane Flanagan after horror start to the year
The St George Illawarra Dragons are bracing for a major coaching shakeup just days out from their iconic annual Anzac Day clash against the Sydney Roosters, with incumbent head coach Shane Flanagan poised to become the second National Rugby League (NRL) mentor dismissed in 2025 following a catastrophic opening to the season.
Club officials have called an urgent press conference for Thursday morning, slated to be led by chairman Andrew Lancaster and chief executive Tim Watsford, confirming long-circulating speculation that Flanagan’s tenure at the helm of the Red V will come to an abrupt end just eight months after he signed a contract extension promising long-term stability.
Flanagan, who led the Cronulla Sharks to their first and only drought-breaking premiership title a decade ago, has overseen a completely winless run through the opening seven rounds of the 2025 NRL season. The club’s poor form extends even further back, with the Dragons having dropped 11 consecutive matches dating back to the closing stages of the 2024 campaign, effectively eliminating any chance of postseason football this year before the season hit the one-quarter mark.
He follows Manly Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold out the door, who was sacked earlier this season after just three straight losses. In a stunning turn of events for Manly, Seibold’s departure immediately sparked an extraordinary turnaround for the side, leaving long-suffering Dragons fans hopeful that a similar coaching change can reverse the club’s lingering slide down the competition ladder.
Flanagan took over the Dragons role ahead of the 2024 season, and notched a mediocre 19 wins from 56 total matches in charge during his tenure. The club has been plagued by persistent issues with player recruitment and retention for months, a problem that has gutted the side’s attacking power after key representative stars Ben Hunt and Zac Lomax departed the club in recent offseasons.
In August 2024, the organization extended Flanagan’s contract for two additional seasons, releasing a statement that now rings hollow amid the crisis: “This extension reaffirms the club’s commitment to stability, growth, and a long-term vision for success both on and off the field.” That public commitment to long-term planning has now collapsed entirely, as growing fan frustration boiled over after seven straight opening losses.
The Dragons’ current struggles extend far beyond the coaching box, with a litany of on-field and off-field disruptions plaguing the squad through the early rounds. Star second-rower Jaydn Su’A was sent off during the club’s most recent round seven clash, and is staring down a lengthy suspension that will rule him out for multiple weeks. Adding insult to injury, Su’A has already confirmed he will leave the club at the end of the season to join rivals Parramatta Eels in 2027.
Other recent on-field struggles have piled up too: star back Valentine Holmes missed 13 tackles in the round seven loss to South Sydney Rabbitohs, young playmaker Daniel Atkinson has failed to register a try assist across his last three appearances, and the club is still uncertain whether experienced utility Clint Gutherson will be able to return to his fullback position once he recovers from a current injury spell.
Off the field, the club has also had to manage growing discontent within its playing ranks. Young forward Loko Pasifiki Tonga’s request for an early release from his contract was rejected earlier this month, prompting the player’s management to leak private internal club emails to the national media in an embarrassing breach of internal confidentiality.
As the club prepares to formally announce Flanagan’s departure ahead of Thursday’s Anzac Day blockbuster, all eyes will be on the Dragons to see who will step in as interim head coach and attempt to revive the proud club’s fading 2025 campaign. More details are expected to emerge following the morning press conference.
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Australia’s preparation for Iran war a “trainwreck”: Joyce
Fresh escalatory rhetoric from former US President Donald Trump targeting Iran’s civilian infrastructure has sparked quiet reaction from Australian political leaders, with a senior One Nation MP refusing to deliver a direct character assessment of the former US leader’s inflammatory comments.
In a post to his Truth Social platform, Trump doubled down on threats against Iran, promising that if Tehran does not agree to a proposed peace deal, the US will destroy every power plant and bridge across the country. In his uncompromising statement, he wrote: ‘NO MORE MR. NICE GUY! They’ll come down fast, they’ll come down easy and, if they don’t take the DEAL, it will be my Honour to do what has to be done, which should have been done to Iran, by other presidents, for the last 47 years.’
The threat lands at a fragile moment in Middle Eastern tensions, just two weeks after the US and Israel carried out coordinated strikes on Iranian targets, with both Washington and Tehran now trading accusations of breaking a shaky bilateral ceasefire. Australia’s official position has long aligned with international calls for an immediate end to hostilities, urging all involved parties to prioritize diplomatic negotiations to de-escalate the crisis.
On Monday, One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce echoed Canberra’s official call for peace, telling Seven Network’s Sunrise program that all Australians ‘hoped and prayed’ the conflict would wrap up quickly. When pressed by reporters to share whether he had faith in Trump’s leadership and to judge the validity of the former president’s threats, Joyce declined to offer a clear assessment. ‘Well, it doesn’t really matter,’ he said of his personal view of Trump. ‘We’ve got to deal with the cards that have been dealt with us.’
Joyce used the moment to reflect on the shifting global security landscape, noting that the ongoing conflict underscores the volatile nature of modern geopolitics. ‘It does show the world in a febrile nature, and we’re living in a different world now. And it shows that, as we’ve always known, there’s no such thing as a short war. They just go on, and this one’s going on,’ he added. The key takeaway for Australia, Joyce argued, is the urgent need to strengthen domestic preparedness for future global shocks. ‘We were not prepared for this. And if something like this happens again … we have got to be vastly better prepared than we were this time, because this is in some areas is a train wreck, economically,’ he said.
Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek echoed calls for immediate peace during an appearance on the same broadcaster, acknowledging that ongoing global uncertainty surrounding the conflict benefits no side. ‘And we’ve seen real impacts on civilians in Iran and around the Middle East, which, of course, we’re concerned about,’ Plibersek said. ‘And although Australia is not formally a party to this conflict, Australians are paying a very heavy price for it. You certainly see the price at the petrol station, but you also see it flowing through to goods and services across the economy … We want to see de-escalation, and we want to see the situation resolved.’
The current tensions carry a specific awkward context for Australian diplomacy: Canberra was not given advance notice of the February 28 US-Israeli strikes on Iran, yet it became the first nation to issue qualified public support for the operation, backing the stated goal of limiting Tehran’s nuclear program. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has since publicly called for greater transparency around Trump’s strategic objectives for the region. This story remains developing, with new details expected to emerge in coming hours.
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Kites bridge cultures in Weifang
On April 18, the skies above Weifang, the coastal city in East China’s Shandong province, filled with a dazzling array of colorful, innovative kites from every corner of the globe, marking the official opening of the 43rd Weifang International Kite Festival and 2026 Weifang Kite Carnival. Hosted at the city’s iconic World Kite Park, this year’s gathering drew nearly 260 dedicated kite teams hailing from 57 distinct countries and regions, turning the local event into a true global celebration of craft, connection, and shared passion.
Long recognized internationally as the “World Capital of Kites”, Weifang carries a kite-making legacy that stretches back more than two millennia. Generations of local artisans have honed and refined this traditional craft over centuries, passing down techniques that have elevated Weifang kites to a globally celebrated art form. What began as a centuries-old cultural practice has grown into a thriving modern economic driver for the region: the city’s entire kite industry now posts more than 2 billion yuan, equivalent to roughly $29.24 million, in annual sales, with Weifang-made kites exported to more than 50 markets across the world.
Beyond economic impact, the annual International Kite Festival has emerged as a powerful bridge connecting disparate cultures. Kite enthusiasts, master craftspeople, and hobbyists from around the world travel to Weifang each year to showcase their unique designs, exchange traditional techniques, and build cross-cultural connections that transcend geographic and political divides. For participants and attendees alike, the event highlights how a shared love of a simple, timeless pastime can bring global communities closer together, cementing Weifang’s reputation as a welcoming hub for international cultural exchange.
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US, Iran accuse each other of ceasefire breach
Fresh geopolitical friction erupted between the United States and Iran on Sunday, as both nations traded sharp accusations of violating an existing ceasefire agreement, raising new risks to regional stability in the Persian Gulf.
Speaking from Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei condemned what he called the U.S. unlawful naval blockade of Iran’s port facilities and coastal territories, labeling the action a criminal breach of the agreed ceasefire terms.
Across the Atlantic in Washington, the mutual blame game continued: ABC News’ chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl reported via social platform X that U.S. President Donald Trump had directly told him Iran was responsible for a “serious violation” of the ceasefire. Trump added that a final diplomatic deal would be reached “one way or another. The nice way or the hard way,” according to Karl’s account.
Earlier that same day, Trump expanded on his administration’s stance in a post on his Truth Social platform, confirming that U.S. diplomatic negotiators would travel to Islamabad on Monday to participate in a new round of bilateral talks with Iran. In a stark warning, Trump claimed the U.S. has put forward “a very fair and reasonable DEAL” to Iran, and threatened that if Tehran rejects the proposal, the United States will destroy every power plant and every bridge across Iran.
The escalating verbal exchange comes amid a complete shutdown of commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints. After the U.S. deployed naval forces to enforce a blockade of Iranian waters over the weekend, Iran moved to reassert its own sovereign control over the strategic waterway, leaving all maritime traffic at a standstill as of Sunday. The standoff has already raised global concerns over potential disruptions to international energy supplies, with the strait accounting for roughly a fifth of global oil trade volumes.
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Xinjiang tour guide whose video went viral wishes to visit Taiwan
A 26-year-old tour guide from China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has captured the hearts of millions of online users, after a spontaneous, heartfelt video of her introducing a landmark infrastructure project went viral across Chinese social media. Now, Dilinur Tursunjan says her biggest personal wish after the viral fame is to cross the Taiwan Strait and visit the Taiwanese family that became her close friends during their Xinjiang trip.
Dilinur first connected with the family from Taiwan last October, when the group began their cross-regional tour of Xinjiang, starting in the northern part of the autonomous region and extending to southern Xinjiang this past March. Over the course of nearly a month traveling together, a deep, warm bond formed between Dilinur and the family. She describes their connection as something even closer than ordinary friendship, built on shared experiences and mutual respect during their journey across Xinjiang’s stunning landscapes.
It was during this trip that Dilinur filmed the viral clip, as she brought the Taiwanese family to visit the newly opened Tianshan Shengli Tunnel. The video, which captured her genuine pride in the mega-engineering project, quickly spread across major social platforms, racking up millions of views and likes and sparking widespread discussion among netizens that lasted for days.
In the video, Dilinur shared a powerful reflection on the tunnel’s construction: “Because our people need this open, accessible road, our great motherland can move mountains and redirect rivers. Drilling through the Tianshan Mountains was never an easy task, but we got it done because the wellbeing of our people waits on the other side of the range.” Her unscripted, sincere words resonated deeply with viewers across the country.
Stretching 2,500 kilometers across northwest China, the Tianshan Mountains have long formed a natural divide between northern and southern Xinjiang, creating long, slow travel routes between the two regions. Completed after just over four years of construction, the 22.13-kilometer Tianshan Shengli Tunnel holds the title of the world’s longest expressway tunnel, and opened to public traffic in December 2025. The project cut what was once a three-hour mountain crossing down to a smooth 20-minute drive, transforming connectivity for local residents and travelers alike.
While guiding the Taiwanese family through the site, Dilinur explained the immense challenges construction crews overcame to complete the project. Workers labored at altitudes above 4,000 meters, where they faced constant exposure to freezing temperatures, low oxygen levels, and extremely complex geological conditions rife with sudden hazards including landslides, rock bursts, and unexpected water inrushes. Leveraging a suite of cutting-edge, world-class innovative construction technologies, Chinese engineering teams successfully completed the tunnel in an impressive 52 months, beating expectations for such a complex high-altitude project.
Dilinur emphasized that her viral comments were completely unscripted and came straight from her heart. She told reporters that when she was researching background information to prepare for the tour, the story of the tunnel’s construction left a deep impression on her, and her overwhelming pride in this extraordinary national project made her words flow naturally on camera.
Now, after forming such a close bond with her Taiwanese guests, Dilinur says she is eager to make the trip to Taiwan to see them, and to experience the island’s natural scenery and culture in person, turning the cross-Strait friendship built on a Xinjiang road trip into a new shared memory.
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A crowd scientist is helping the Boston Marathon manage a growing field of 30,000-plus runners
The Boston Marathon, one of the world’s most iconic and grueling road races, faces a unique, longstanding challenge: balancing its centuries-old historic character with the needs of a modern, massive field of athletes. Stretching 26.2 miles across eight Massachusetts cities and towns, much of the course runs along narrow Colonial-era streets that cannot be widened or re-routed to accommodate growing participant numbers. This year, race organizers are turning to data-driven crowd science expertise to refine crowd flow, improve athlete experiences, and even explore controlled future expansion without altering the race’s beloved core identity.
Leading the overhaul is Marcel Altenburg, a senior crowd science lecturer at Britain’s Manchester Metropolitan University and an ultramarathon runner with a background as a German army captain. Altenburg has spent years advising major global events, airports, and large-scale exhibitions on safe, efficient crowd management, and he brings a deep respect for what makes the Boston Marathon unique. “There are certain things that we can’t change — that we don’t want to change — because they make the Boston Marathon,” Altenburg explained. “As a scientist, I can’t be overly rigid about applying research here; the race needs to stay what it is, because that’s what runners and fans love.”
First held in 1897, the Boston Marathon traces its roots to the 1896 inaugural modern Olympic marathon, itself inspired by the legend of Greek messenger Pheidippides, who ran from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to deliver news of victory over Persia before collapsing and dying. From just 15 participants in its first running, the race grew to a peak of 38,000 runners for its 100th edition in 1996, and has stabilized at roughly 30,000 participants annually since 2015. This year’s field includes more than 32,000 runners, plus hundreds of thousands of spectators that line the course, putting massive strain on the narrow New England roads and forcing local communities to close key thoroughfares for hours, disrupting daily commerce and commutes.
Race director Dave McGillivray noted that the race’s biggest constraints have always been time and space. “It would be kind of great someday to be able to grow the race a little bit more,” he said. “The problem with this race is that it’s about two things: time and space. We don’t have either. … So, we’re trying to be innovative.”
To solve these constraints, Altenburg ran more than 100 computer simulations of the race, testing different configurations within the existing event time window to identify adjustments that would improve the athlete experience. Organizers granted him wide creative latitude to test everything from extra starting waves to repositioned aid stations, evaluating every change at key points along the course to measure whether it would benefit runners.
The most visible change for this year’s race is the shift from three starting waves to six, with groups segmented by runners’ qualifying times. This adjustment, which builds on a wave system first introduced in 2011, spreads participants out along the narrow 39-foot-wide starting stretch on Hopkinton’s Main Street, eliminating the slow, crowded walking that many runners experienced in the opening miles in past years. Less visible but equally impactful changes include revised bus unloading procedures at the starting area, repositioned water and aid stations, and redesigned finish line chutes where runners collect medals, refreshments, and medical care. Even porta-potty lines are expected to be shorter with the new crowd layout.
Lauren Proshan, chief of race operations and production for the Boston Athletic Association (BAA), which organizes the event, said the data-driven refresh has allowed the 130-year-old race to reinvent itself while preserving its legacy. “For an event that’s as old as ours, 130 years, it allowed us to be a startup all over again,” Proshan said. “The change isn’t meant to be earth-shattering. It’s to be a smooth experience from start to finish. It’s one of those things that you work really, really hard behind the scenes and hope that no one notices — a behind-the-curtain change that makes you feel as if you’re just floating and having a great day.”
Altenburg emphasized that the BAA approached every change with extreme care to protect the race’s historic identity, with detailed planning that began immediately after last year’s race concluded. “What I loved about working with the BAA was how aware they are of what the Boston Marathon is. And they won’t change anything lightly,” he said. “That we check every single option. That we really make sure that if we change something about this historic race, then we know what we’re doing.”
Over the next three years, the BAA will collect feedback from participants to evaluate whether the new layout works, before making any decisions about future expansion or additional adjustments. “Fingers crossed, hope for the best, but we’ll get feedback from the participants,” McGillivray said. “And they’ll let us know whether or not it worked or not.”
Even with the latest data and crowd science insights, there are hard limits to what adjustments can achieve: extending course closure time is off the table, and the historic route will remain unchanged. At the end of the day, Altenburg noted, the hard work of running the marathon still falls to the athletes themselves: “I can talk. I’m a scientist. I just press a button and it’s going to be. But the runners still have to do it.”
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Trump says US envoys to arrive in Islamabad on Monday for talks
Former U.S. President and current leading political figure Donald Trump has confirmed that a delegation of American diplomatic envoys is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan’s capital city of Islamabad on Monday for official bilateral talks, according to an official announcement updated by Xinhua News Agency on April 19, 2026.
The confirmation of the diplomatic visit comes amid a period of shifting regional and international diplomatic engagements, with multiple high-level diplomatic moves unfolding across South Asia, the Middle East, and the broader global stage in the same timeframe. This scheduled diplomatic mission marks a new step in bilateral interactions between the United States and Pakistan, two countries with long-standing but historically complex diplomatic and security ties.
Alongside this announcement, a series of other major global developments are also unfolding: regional tensions remain high in the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing conflict-related developments, while a newly implemented 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon has taken effect, with an upcoming high-profile meeting between the two nations’ leaders scheduled to be hosted on U.S. soil, per Trump’s confirmation. Other key international events include the 55th anniversary celebration of China’s iconic Ping-Pong Diplomacy held in New York, and policy shifts in regional nations such as Thailand’s regulatory move to reorient cannabis retail operations exclusively toward medical use.
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Turkey says Muslim countries concerned by Israel-Greece-Cyprus alliance
Speaking at this weekend’s Antalya Diplomacy Forum in southern Turkey, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has amplified longstanding Turkish concerns over the expanding trilateral military alliance between Israel, Greece, and Cyprus, warning that the bloc has sparked quiet unease among Muslim nations across the region.
Fidan pointedly noted that Greece, a longstanding member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, has moved forward with the partnership despite its NATO commitments, adding that Turkish officials have never received public or private assurances that the alliance was not structured to counter Turkish regional interests.
The top diplomat referenced a provocative 2023 comment made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a trilateral summit in Jerusalem. Standing alongside his Greek and Cypriot counterparts, Netanyahu issued a veiled jab at regional powers with imperial ambitions, saying: “To those who fantasise they can re-establish their empires and their dominion over our lands, I say: Forget it. It’s not going to happen. Don’t even think about it.” Fidan confirmed the comment was widely interpreted as a direct reference to Turkey.
The Israel-Greece-Cyprus alignment, first launched in the early 2010s, already includes formal security and defense cooperation, encompassing joint military exercises, cross-border intelligence sharing, and coordinated strategic planning in the Eastern Mediterranean. Just last week, Fidan drew sharp backlash from Athens when he claimed the alliance is designed to encircle Turkey from the south, warning that the bloc “brings more problems” and “leads to war.”
Greek officials immediately rejected the accusation, emphasizing that their cooperation with Israel and Cyprus is purely defensive in nature and not targeted at any third country. Repeating his position on Sunday, Fidan pushed back against Athens’ denials, arguing that the military dimension of the trilateral partnership is undeniable.
“Greece can say what it wants, but the picture is clear,” Fidan told attendees of the forum. “There is no other country in Europe that has taken this kind of step towards military cooperation and partnership.”
He added that Turkey’s concerns extend far beyond national security, noting that the alliance is a source of quiet anxiety for Muslim countries across the region, even if most have chosen not to voice their worries publicly. “Israel has been recently running an expansionist policy, and Turkey’s concerns aren’t unwarranted,” Fidan said.
In a bid to counter framing that Turkey is building a counter-bloc to the Israel-led alliance, Fidan clarified that recent regular dialogue mechanisms Turkey has established with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Pakistan to coordinate on regional issues are not equivalent to a military alliance, and are not directed against Israel. “We aren’t like Israel. They established a military alliance with Greece and Cyprus against the Muslim countries,” Fidan said. “We, unlike Israel, try to end the conflicts in the region, stabilise it.”
Internal tensions within the trilateral alliance have already come to light in recent months. A December 2023 report from Cypriot newspaper Politis revealed that Nicosia is uncomfortable being dragged into the growing standoff between Israel and Turkey, accusing Netanyahu of stoking tensions to score domestic political gains. A regional official familiar with internal negotiations confirmed to Middle East Eye at the time that Cyprus is uneasy with Israel’s aggressive approach, calling the prime minister’s rhetoric “the usual playbook with Israel: messaging to its domestic audience with lots of bluster and gusto, ignoring the hard facts and projecting its own narrative.”
The report also noted that selective leaks from Israeli sources claiming the three countries planned to form a joint military brigade — with 1,000 troops each from Israel and Greece, and 500 from Cyprus — had particularly agitated Cypriot officials. Both Cypriot Defense Minister Vasilis Palmas and a senior Greek official denied any plans for a joint brigade in separate comments to Middle East Eye in December and early 2024 respectively.