Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Youth, and Environment, leader of the Democrat Party (DP) Fikri Ataoğlu, reacted to journalist Michael Rubin’s article regarding flights carried out to the TRNC by Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines.

According to a statement issued by the DP Ataoğlu said that Rubin’s article published in the Greek newspaper Kathimerini once again revealed his anti-Turkish stance by calling for Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines to halt their flights to the TRNC.

“Rubin’s article, in which he included the words ‘Either you fly to Europe or you support the occupation of Cyprus, but you cannot do both,’ not only fuels anti-Turkish sentiment but also exemplifies an inhumane and outdated mindset. Such mindsets, which incite such feelings of animosity, using their profession as a weapon to impose their ideological views, have no place in professional ethics or human values,” the Deputy Prime Minister said in his statement.

Ataoğlu emphasized that targeting Turkish Airlines and Pegasus Airlines for flying to the TRNC is the most evident manifestation of a racist and narrow-minded mindset, standing against those who have remained mere spectators in the face of the inhumane isolations imposed on the TRNC for years and who continue to pursue biased and misguided policies, effectively aiding such mindsets.

He stated that both airlines are crucial airlines that diligently provide transportation services to the people of the TRNC, and directing efforts to tarnish their service and the airlines themselves is a clear example of a smear campaign.

He stated that disregarding this reality and attempting to discredit this service and the respective airlines is a textbook example of a malicious propaganda campaign.

Ataoğlu called on European states to take a direct and humane stance and condemned both the Kathimerini newspaper, which allowed the publication of the article, and Rubin, who attempts to fuel anti-Turkish sentiment.