Turkish Vice-President Cevdet Yılmaz has pledged that Ankara will never abandon Turkish Cypriots, saying their security remains a top priority for the Turkish government.
Yılmaz made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions ahead of an AKP parliamentary group meeting, after being asked about security in the north in light of US and Israeli strikes on Iran and rising tensions across the Middle East.
The Turkish vice-president claimed there had recently been a significant military build-up of weaponry on the Greek Cypriot side, and that measures taken by Nicosia had endangered the island as a whole.
Referring to the 1974 Turkish invasion — which Ankara calls a “peace operation” — Yılmaz claimed it had secured the safety “not only of Turks but of the entire island.”
He added that for more than 50 years, both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots had been developing and advancing “in a safe and peaceful environment,” made possible, he argued, by the Turkish Armed Forces and that operation.
Turkey wants “a more peaceful future” for both communities and supports “the sovereign equality of all,” he said.
“We have never left the Turkish Cypriots alone and we will not do so in the future,” Yılmaz said, adding that Turkey, as motherland and guarantor power, was taking the necessary measures in light of regional developments.
He concluded by saying that every step Ankara takes is aimed at “the security of all the island’s inhabitants and the island as a whole.”
(information from CNA)
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