Turkish officials have rejected a European Parliament resolution concerning Türkiye’s 1974 military operation in Cyprus, calling the decision baseless and saying it has no standing for Ankara.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said Türkiye did not recognize the resolution.
“We certainly do not recognize this decision in any way. We see it as null and void,” Yılmaz said.
He accused the European Parliament of being influenced by Greek Cypriot claims and said the decision had no value for Türkiye or the Turkish Cyprus.
“Such decisions do not harm the Republic of Türkiye or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. They only reduce the credibility of the European Parliament,” he said.
Yılmaz said the rights of Turkish Cypriots, including sovereign equality and equal international status, should be recognized and that restrictions and isolations imposed on them should be lifted.
He also said cooperation between the two sides on the island was possible in areas such as drought, climate change, agriculture and energy if based on two sovereign and equal states.
Yılmaz argued that efforts ignoring the realities on the island had not produced results in the past and would not do so in the future.
He said Türkiye’s 1974 operation was carried out within the framework of international law and its guarantor role, adding that the European Parliament should “look at history.”
AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik also condemned the resolution, calling it an “unacceptable slander” against the Turkish Armed Forces.
“We categorically reject this disgraceful decision,” Çelik said.
He said the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry’s response should be supported “in the name of historical honesty.”
Communications Director Burhanettin Duran said the European Parliament’s resolution was unacceptable and had “no value or effect” for Türkiye.
He said the text ignored the rights of the Turkish Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot people and reflected a biased approach to the Cyprus issue.
The Foreign Ministry earlier said the resolution was “null and void,” describing its claims against the Turkish Armed Forces as baseless.
It said Ankara fully supported the statement issued by the Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry.
The ministry accused EU institutions of moving further away from historical realities and impartiality on Cyprus.
The Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry also earlier condemned the resolution, saying it distorted Türkiye’s 1974 intervention and targeted Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people.
It called on the European Parliament to abandon what it described as one-sided approaches, stop using the Cyprus issue as a political tool and respect the island’s current and historical realities.
The European Parliament adopted the resolution on alleged sexual violence suffered by Cypriot women during the 1974 operation with 575 votes in favor, 33 against and 43 abstentions.
All six Greek Cypriot members of the parliament voted in favor of the report, while its rapporteur on Türkiye, Nacho Sanchez Amor, was among those who abstained.
The rejection of a U.N. peace plan by Greek Cypriot voters in a 2004 referendum meant the southern administration entered the EU that year still as a divided island, with Turkish Cypriots denied the full benefits of membership. The northern part is recognized only by Ankara.
Efforts to reunify Cyprus under a bi-zonal, bicommunal federation have remained stalled since U.N.-sponsored talks collapsed in 2017. The newly elected Turkish Cypriot administration had pledged to revive negotiations before taking office.
