Turkish defense chief berates Greek parliamentarian over Cyprus comment

By Sarp Ozer

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's top defense official on Tuesday rebuked a Greek member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly over accusations on Northern Cyprus.

"Türkiye is not an occupier in Northern Cyprus," National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar asserted at a session of the assembly's Political Committee in Istanbul, stressing that the country "prevented a massacre there" in its 1974 peace operation on the island.

Akar, who was attending a joint meeting of the Mediterranean and Middle East Group, was responding to a question by the lawmaker, who accused Türkiye of occupying the northern part of Cyprus.

Addressing the opening session, Akar shared Türkiye's approaches on defense and security issues, followed by a question and answer session during which he told the Greek legislator: "If you call Northern Cyprus an 'occupation,' then that means you want to argue, to begin with."

Recalling the "massacres and coups" that took place on the island until 1974, Akar underlined that in this period, "even the lives of the (Cypriot) Greeks were in danger."

"From 1974 until now, both the south and the north have been living in peace," he said. "You have to see this. You must not be biased."

"Despite all its shortcomings, the Turkish Cypriots accepted the UN's Annan Plan as a solution in 2004. The Greek Cypriot side didn't accept it."

He also pointed to the presence of terrorists targeting Türkiye in Greece, including the PKK/YPG and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind a 2016 defeated coup in the country.

While Ankara is "making an intense effort to save our country and nation from the scourge of terrorism," it is against a relationship of alliance and friendship that Greece "provides a place for the PKK/YPG, FETO, which we are fighting, harming our people, killing 40,000 people and murdering 251 people," said Akar.

He also referred to the PKK presence in the refugee camp of Lavrion (Laurium) near Greece's capital Athens, which footage by a private Greek broadcaster recently revealed to be operating as a propaganda and training base for the terrorists. The Greek lawmaker denied this claim.

Underlining Türkiye's readiness to hold talks with its NATO ally to smooth their differences, Akar said his country "always and persistently stated that we are in favor of solving problems through international law, good neighborly relations and dialogue."

He said these efforts were being pursued through various mechanisms including consultative meetings and confidence-building measures, adding that after three consultative meetings, Türkiye is waiting for the Greek side to come to Ankara for a fourth one.

Responding to a question by another Greek parliamentarian who alleged that Turkish planes were flying over the Greek islands, Akar said that in an incident on April 27, a Greek aircraft violated Turkish airspace over the country's southwest.

"After that, what do you expect us to do?" he asked, adding that Türkiye launched a retaliatory move the next day.