Greek-American Congressman John Sarbanes said on Sunday he believed Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan was responsible for the attack against UN peacekeepers in Pyla.
The congressman has asked US President Joe Biden to ensure that the crisis is “meaningfully addressed by the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council.”
“I hold Turkish President Erdogan accountable for this assault and consider it part of the pattern of provocation and destabilizing conduct that, among other things, argues against sending F-16s to Turkey,” Sarbanes said in a statement.
“Cypriots have lived with the looming shadow of Turkish occupation for 49 years. While Cypriot leaders and the European Union have urged a peaceful reunification of the island, Turkish Cypriot authorities and Turkish President Erdogan have made it clear through continuing rounds of escalatory behavior their intent to subvert peace negotiations,” he added.
The Congressman noted that the Turkish Cypriots’ attempted construction of a road from the north into Pyla “is a jarring escalation of tensions in the area and blatantly violates long standing international agreements designed to protect Cyprus from exactly this kind of aggression.”
He described the attack “by Turkish Cypriot forces as an unabashed assault, which warrants the international condemnation” and welcomes the statements issued by the British High Commission, the French Embassy and the US Embassy in Cyprus.
“I urge President Biden to use the United States’ good offices at the United Nations to ensure the crisis in Pyla is meaningfully addressed by the UN Secretary General and the UN Security Council,” he concluded.