Ankara on Monday welcomed the understanding reached between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) on the construction of the Yiğitler-Pile road.

A statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Ankara fully supported the statement made by the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this issue.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the construction of the Yiğitler-Pile road, which was a humanitarian project, had been on the agenda for decades to enable direct access for TRNC citizens living in the mixed village of Pile in the buffer zone to the TRNC.

“The understanding on the construction of the road is yet another example of the constructive attitude that the TRNC side has always displayed. The TRNC’s approach is also indicative of the contribution that the Turkish side will make to the success of the only realistic settlement model based on the cooperation of the two states on the island,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in its statement

It added that as the TRNC authorities have emphasized, any projects that may be planned or implemented in the area of Pile within the framework of the understanding, as well as in the entire buffer zone, should be subject to the approval of the Turkish Cypriots.

“Our country will continue to pursue this issue in close coordination with the TRNC,” the statement concluded.