Türkiye’s Parliamentary Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş on Thursday lashed out at comments of a Greek Cypriot representative who called Türkiye and Azerbaijan ‘occupiers.’

“It is true that there is an occupation in Cyprus, but not by Türkiye but the Greek Cypriot side” Numan Kurtulmuş said.

The Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) Numan Kurtulmuş attended the European Conference of Presidents of Parliament in Dublin.

During his speech, Kurtulmuş reacted to the remarks made by Anita Demetriou, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Greek Cypriot Administration of South Cyprus, who took the floor before him, and referred to the Turks as ‘occupiers’.

Regarding the words of the Greek Cypriot representative Kurtulmuş said, “There is an occupation in Cyprus, it is true. The occupier in Cyprus is not Türkiye, but the Greek Cypriot side, which abolished the legal Republic of Cyprus, established in 1960 and occupied the Republic. Of course, Türkiye, as a guarantor country, could not and did not remain a spectator to the elimination of the Republic of Cyprus by pro-Enosis groups.”