Bahçeli slams Greek minister's remarks on Cyprus op

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has criticized Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias for labeling Türkiye's 1974 military operation in Cyprus as an "invasion."

"The statements of the Greek defense minister Dendias are rude, arrogant and delusional," Bahçeli said during a press conference at his party's headquarters on July 23.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of Türkiye's operation, launched five days after a coup orchestrated by the junta then in power in Athens sought to unite the whole island with Greece.

"The July 20 peace operation ended the genocide attempts. Turkish enemies are restless and lost sleep," Bahçeli said.

"We stand behind the Cyprus cause. The Turkish Cypriot state must be recognized. There is no other alternative. The peace of Cyprus means the peace of the eastern Mediterranean."

On July 15, Dendias visited Cyprus and condemned "the shameful festivities of Turkish Cypriots and the illegal presence of the occupying Turkish army in Cyprus for half a century."

The rejection of a U.N. peace plan by Greek Cypriot voters in a 2004 referendum meant the Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union that year still a divided island, with Turkish Cypriots denied the full benefits of membership.

North Cyprus is recognized only by Ankara.

U.N.-backed efforts to reunify the Mediterranean island as a bizonal and bicommunal federation have been at a standstill since the last round of talks collapsed in 2017.

"Cyprus is not just an island where life is lived on, it is a monument to the existence of the Turkish nation. Cyprus is the keystone of the region," Bahçeli added.

"If it wasn't for Türkiye's intervention 50 years ago, the same disasters as in Gaza would have been encountered."