Türkiye rebukes Greek Cypriot remarks against Ankara, Baku

Türkiye's parliament speaker lambasted a Greek Cypriot representative who called Türkiye and Azerbaijan "occupiers" while addressing the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament.

"It is true that there is an occupation in Cyprus. But the occupier in Cyprus is not Türkiye, it is the Greek Cypriot side, which abolished the legal Republic of Cyprus established in 1960 and occupied it," Numan Kurtulmus said at Thursday's conference in the Irish capital Dublin.

His remarks came as a response to the previous speaker Annita Demetriou, the president of the House of Representatives of the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus, who claimed that Türkiye is an occupier in Cyprus, and Azerbaijan in Karabakh.

Regarding the accusation on Baku, Kurtulmus stressed that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan, expressing that Türkiye understands, appreciates and fully supports "Azerbaijan's sensitivity in liberating its territory" in the face of Armenia's 33-year occupation.

He also reiterated Türkiye's calls for peace and the opening of the Zangezur Corridor, which would be for the benefit of all peoples of the region.

Following the conference, Kurtulmus tweeted on X that the parliament leaders also discussed in detail the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine war, the role of parliaments in solving current problems and the challenges that democracies face in unstable periods.

Representing Türkiye, Kurtulmus expressed Ankara's strong support for Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders.

He added that Türkiye actively supports Ukraine's recovery and reconstruction process.

During the conference, Kurtulmus also condemned recent attacks on Islam's holy book Quran in some European countries.

He stressed that the "flagrant attacks" on the religious beliefs of 2 billion people are in fact "an insult not only against Muslims but against all humanity."