Northern Cyprus slams additional troop deployment by UK on island

By Mehmet Kemal Firik

LEFKOSA (AA) - Zorlu Tore, speaker of the Turkish Cypriot parliament, expressed his reaction on Saturday regarding the UK's decision to send 700 additional troops to its sovereign bases in the island. The UK claims this deployment is part of efforts to evacuate its citizens from Lebanon.

"The UK is sending not only soldiers to Cyprus but also warships, aircraft, and submarines," Tore told Anadolu Agency.

He pointed out that both the US and UK have recently increased their military presence in Cyprus. Tore criticized these countries for providing political and military support to Israel rather than taking steps to stop the violence in Gaza.

He noted that the Greek Cypriot administration also backs Israel's ongoing military actions in Gaza, asserting that the Greek Cypriot side is trying to escalate tensions in the region with the assistance of the UK, US, and some EU member states.

"The Greek side must also get its act together. It should stop enabling Western countries in the massacres in Gaza," he stated.

Tore further argued that the UK’s decision to send additional troops cannot be justified merely by the need to evacuate citizens from Lebanon. "Clearly, this is a reinforcement against the risk of a potential war spreading in the region," he said.

He accused the UK, the US, and some EU countries of complicity in the violence in Gaza, stating, "Instead of stopping the attacks, they are providing support to Israel."

Recalling Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's recent speech at the UN General Assembly, Tore quoted Erdogan: "The world is bigger than five." He emphasized that Erdogan advocates for global unity to end what he described as genocide committed by Israel, suggesting that the Western nations fail to understand these sentiments due to the loss of their moral integrity.