Turkish Cyprus warns against Greek 'artificial crisis'

By Murat Demirci

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Recent actions by the Greek Cypriot administration were meant to spark an artificial crisis in the region, said the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Wednesday.

“The Greek Cypriot side plans to increase the tension in the Denya-Serhatkoy region and encourage some Greek Cypriots to violate the zone along the TRNC border,” said the Turkish Cypriot Deputy Prime Ministry and Foreign Ministry in a statement.

“Recent developments in the region reveal that the Greek Cypriot administration is striving to create an artificial crisis.”

It added: “On Nov. 20, eleven Greek Cypriots came to the region with six vehicles and violated the buffer zone, reaching the TRNC border.”

The statement added that Turkish Cypriot leaders are watching developments closely and urged Greek Cypriot authorities to “cease using villagers as fodder for propaganda.”

Cyprus was divided into a Turkish Cypriot state in the north and a Greek Cypriot administration in the south after a 1974 military coup was followed by violence against the island’s Turks, and Turkey’s intervention as a guarantor power.

The status of the island remains unresolved in spite of a series of negotiations over the years.

An initiative in Crans-Montana, Switzerland in July 2017 under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. ended in failure.