Disgruntled by Turkey’s backing for Pakistan during ‘Operation Sindoor,’ India is further strengthening its military ties with three of Ankara’s major rivals: Greece, Cyprus, and Armenia.
When India launched ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan in May 2025 to avenge the Pahalgam terror attack, Turkey publicly chose Pakistan’s side, calling India’s actions “provocative.”
Additionally, it provided support to Pakistan in the military domain, as evidenced by the firing of 350 Turkish drones at Indian cities during the conflict.
During its retaliatory strikes on India, Islamabad reportedly deployed Turkish-origin Bayraktar TB2 and YIHA drones for conducting surveillance, marking targets, and executing kamikaze-style attacks on targets along the borders. The Asisguard Songar drones were used to attack targets inside India.
Turkey’s unprecedented diplomatic, military, and media propaganda support to Islamabad after the ghastly terror attacks in Kashmir outraged Indians.
India initially responded by blocking the X accounts of some Turkish media publications peddling ‘fake news’ and revoking the security clearance for Celebi Airport Services, as reported by the EurAsian Times at the time.
Furthermore, hundreds of top trade leaders from India announced a total boycott of all travel, business, and cultural interactions with Turkey, resulting in a significant decline in Indian tourists visiting Turkey.
In the past, Turkey has provided military aid to Pakistan, including during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, and hosted Pakistani military training.
More importantly, though, the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly internationalized Kashmir at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), calling it a “threat to peace” in speeches since 2019. India views this as interference in its internal affairs and has condemned Ankara for towing that line.
Turkey has also been deepening its military and political footprint in South Asia, in India’s backyard. Turkey’s enhanced ties with Pakistan and its outreach to India’s eastern neighborhood, Bangladesh, are viewed by many in New Delhi as an anti-India strategy aimed at choking the world’s largest democracy.
India Is Pushing Back & How!
India has been steadily strengthening ties with three of its biggest rivals of Turkey, Armenia, Greece, and Cyprus.
Armenia, as a former Soviet Union republic, has traditionally relied on Russian arms for its defense needs. However, in recent years, it has realized that it can no longer rely solely on Russian security guarantees and must diversify its defense partnerships and establish new allies.
Surrounded by adversary countries on both sides, Azerbaijan to its East and Turkey to its West, Armenia concluded in 2022 that it needed a military upgrade. India seized the opportunity and swiftly responded by providing its cutting-edge defense equipment.
Armenia made significant purchases of Indian-made weapon systems, including the Akash-1S air defense system and the Pinaka multiple-launch rocket systems. In fact, it has now become the largest importer of Indian weapons.
Under multiple deals signed in recent times, India will supply howitzers, anti-tank rockets, air defense systems, and anti-drone equipment to the Armenian army.
This is a direct challenge to Turkey, which supports and arms Azerbaijan. So, if another conflict erupts between Armenia and Azerbaijan, it would likely witness a clash of Indian and Turkish military equipment.
India is also forging very close ties with Turkey’s biggest rival, Greece.
Greece was among the first European countries to condemn the Pahalgam terrorist attack. It expressed solidarity and affirmed India’s right to self-defense under international law.
Later, in June 2025, the Greek Air Force General Staff reportedly requested combat data, operational details, and tactics from Operation Sindoor to enhance its own training and Rafale fighter jet simulations, thus opening another major area of cooperation.
In August 2025, the Indian frigate INS TAMAL conducted a passage exercise (PASSEX) with the Hellenic Navy’s missile cruiser RITSOS while in the port of Souda from August 19 to 22. Senior representatives of NATO and the Hellenic Armed Forces were honored by the Indian officers.
The defense ties between the two states have become more robust in recent years, as demonstrated by their maiden bilateral joint naval exercise, conducted at the Salamis Naval Base in the Mediterranean Sea from September 13 to 18 this year.
Indian Naval ship INS Trikand joined HS Themistokles and HS Pipinos of the Hellenic Navy to conduct cross-deck visits, anti-submarine warfare drills, night visit-board-search-seizure operations, replenishment-at-sea, coordinated gun firing, and helicopter cross-decking.
#IndianNavy – #HellenicNavy Maiden bilateral maritime exercise concluded on #18Sep 25 in the Mediterranean Sea, marking a milestone in India-Greece defence cooperation.
Harbour phase (13-17 Sep) included cross-deck visits, professional exchanges, a pre-sail conference onboard… https://t.co/V7EpESU1z5 pic.twitter.com/Q6ZbhWwJoo
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) September 20, 2025
These exercises have given the impression that the bilateral and defense ties are poised for deeper integration. Greek and Indian media have also reported that New Delhi is extending an offer to Athens for its Long-Range Land Attack Cruise Missile, which has a range of 1,000–1,500 km.
The sale of these cruise missiles has the potential to alter the Aegean power dynamics, which have long been marred by disagreements between Greece and Turkey over airspace and maritime borders.
Greek journalist Paul Antonopoulos said on X: “Equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, sensors, and stealth technology, INS Trikand’s appearance in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea sends a powerful message to Turkey – India stands by Greece and Cyprus against Turkey’s constant provocations and attempts to redraw maritime borders and will not sit idly by as Turkey encourages and supports Pakistan’s territorial ambitions against India. Caliphate delusions end with the reinvigorated alliance of Hellenes and Bhartiya’s.”
In addition to Armenia and Greece, India is also courting the Greek Cypriot-led Republic of Cyprus. As previously explained in depth by the EurAsian Times, Turkey occupied northern Cyprus and formed the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (TRNC) in 1983, and has since remained on a collision course with Southern Cyprus and Greece.
In June 2025, a month after the Operation Sindoor was launched, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a historic visit to Cyprus—the first by an Indian PM in 23 years.
Modi met President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia, where they signed a Joint Declaration on the India-Cyprus Partnership and outlined a five-year action plan for cooperation in trade, defense, technology, and innovation.
Modi received Cyprus’s highest civilian honor, the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III, which he dedicated to the “enduring friendship” between the two nations.
Modi announced deepened collaboration between India and Cyprus’s defense industries, including joint naval exercises, real-time intelligence sharing on terrorism, drug trafficking, and arms smuggling, as well as cybersecurity and maritime security dialogues.
In line with this, the Indian Navy frigate INS Trikand docked in Limassol in September 2025 for a PASSEX exercise with Cypriot vessels, reinforcing naval ties.
#INSTrikand called at Limassol, #Cyprus on #21Sep 25 during her ongoing deployment to the Mediterranean Sea.
On arrival, the Commanding Officer called on the High Commissioner of India to Cyprus @HCI_Nicosia and the Cdr of the Cyprus Navy @NationalGuardCY.
Activities during the… pic.twitter.com/XSDr0moOHK
— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) September 24, 2025
India’s outreach to Cyprus is strategically timed amid tensions with Turkey. India has leveraged its support for Cyprus’s sovereignty, reiterating calls for the withdrawal of Turkish troops from northern Cyprus under UN frameworks.
These outreach attempts are seen as India’s strategy of countering the Turkey-Pakistan axis through alliances with Greece, Cyprus, and Armenia.
Mushahid Hussain Sayed, a foreign affairs expert who previously served as Pakistan’s federal minister and long-time senator, told TRT that India’s military drills with Greece were akin to a “symbolic response” to the defence cooperation between Turkey and Pakistan, which includes the sale of arms.
Some other analysts have pinned the blame on Greece, saying that the country tends to form alliances with states that are hostile to Turkey. They view this as a ploy by Turkey’s rivals to limit Ankara’s growing influence in both South Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean.
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