UPDATE - Türkiye marks Northern Cyprus' Peace and Freedom Day

ADDS MORE REMARKS FROM TURKISH OFFICIALS

By Emre Basaran and Diyar Guldogan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye on Thursday marked the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) Peace and Freedom Day, hailing the landmark 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, which turns 49 years old this week.

Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz took to Twitter to extend congratulations, saying: "On the 49th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, I sincerely congratulate the Peace and Freedom Day of our TRNC brothers."

"I commemorate our martyrs with mercy and gratitude, and our veterans with gratitude and respect," he added, referring to the soldiers who took part in Türkiye’s intervention to protect the island’s Turkish Cypriots from ethnic violence at the hand of Greek Cypriots.

In a Twitter post, Numan Kurtulmus, the Turkish parliament speaker, said: "Cyprus is our heart, our national cause. Our brotherhood, which is the guarantee of the peace and well-being of the island, will continue forever."

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also marked the anniversary of the operation, saying: "The Cyprus Peace Operation, in which our heroic army and our Cypriot brothers stood shoulder to shoulder, has forever buried the attempt (by the Greek Cypriots) at the existence of the Turkish Cypriots."

The Turkish Foreign Ministry also posted online: "On the 49th anniversary of Cyprus Peace Operation, we commemorate our martyrs with respect and mercy, and our heroic veterans with gratitude, who fought for our national cause, Cyprus, and gave their lives for the rights and freedom of the Turkish Cypriots.

It added: "Congratulations to the Turkish Cypriot people, an integral part of our nation, on their Peace and Freedom Day.”

The National Defense Ministry also issued a congratulatory statement saying: "We commemorate our martyrs with mercy on the 49th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, which put an end to the inhuman massacres of Turkish Cypriots and brought peace, security and tranquility to the Island, and wish our veterans a healthy and happy long life.”

"We have never forsaken the Turkish Cypriots, nor will we ever!" it added.

The ministry also shared a video specially prepared for the 49th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation.

- Cyprus issue

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 Peace Operation as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU 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.