By Utku Simsek and Yasin Gungor
ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's National Defense Ministry "strongly" condemned the Roadmap for Defense Cooperation agreement between the US and the Greek Cypriot administration, calling for a reassessment of approaches that ignore Northern Cyprus.
Responding to journalists' questions after the weekly press briefing, ministry sources criticized the agreement, stating that it undermines the US neutral stance toward the island of Cyprus and that it threatens the security of Turkish Cypriots.
"The approach that ignores the Northern Cyprus and sees the Greek Cypriots as the sole representative of the island should be reassessed,” it added.
The ministry emphasized that a sustainable solution for Cyprus requires "a cooperative relationship based on sovereign equality and equal international status."
Türkiye reaffirmed its commitment to protecting Turkish Cypriots' security and prosperity, citing guarantee and alliance agreements.
Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983. July 20, the anniversary of the operation, is celebrated yearly in the TRNC as Peace and Freedom Day.
The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus based on sovereign equality and equal international status.