Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz has rejected the European Parliament's resolution on Türkiye's 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, saying Ankara does not recognise it and considers it "null and void."
Speaking at a joint press conference with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Unal Ustel at Ercan Airport in Lefkosa on Friday, Yilmaz said the resolution undermines the European Parliament's credibility.
"We do not recognise this decision in any way. It is null and void," he said.
Yilmaz argued that the European Parliament had become "a tool for the Greek Cypriot administration's propaganda" and dismissed the resolution as baseless, saying it held no significance for either Türkiye or the TRNC.
1974 Cyprus Peace Operation brought peace and stability
He said the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation had brought lasting peace and stability to the island for more than five decades, benefiting both Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
Urging the European Parliament to "look at history" instead of engaging in "populist rhetoric," he said Türkiye had acted as a guarantor state in accordance with international law.
"Those engaging in such polemics at the European Parliament should first look at the genocide taking place in Gaza," Yilmaz said, adding that without the 1974 operation, Turkish Cypriots could have faced a fate similar to that of Palestinians in Gaza.
AK Party spokesperson Omer Celik also condemned the resolution, describing it as "a vile slander" against the Turkish Armed Forces.
"The so-called resolution adopted by the European Parliament is a vile slander against the heroic Turkish Armed Forces. We condemn this so-called resolution," Celik said in a statement on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.
Calling the resolution baseless, Celik said the Turkish Armed Forces have a long and honourable history and urged support for the TRNC "in the name of historical honesty."
In a post on X, Head of Communications Burhanettin Duran also criticised the European Parliament's decision, describing it as "unacceptable" and accusing it of making "baseless allegations" against the Turkish Armed Forces.
Cyprus Peace Operation
Cyprus island has remained divided for decades between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite repeated UN-led efforts to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Intercommunal violence beginning in the early 1960s forced many Turkish Cypriots into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a coup by Greek Cypriots seeking union with Greece prompted Türkiye, acting as a guarantor power under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, to launch the Cyprus Peace Operation. Türkiye says the intervention was intended to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was established in 1983.
Efforts to reunify the island have repeatedly stalled, including the collapse of UN-sponsored talks in Switzerland in 2017 involving the guarantor states Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot Administration joined the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots rejected a UN-backed reunification plan in a referendum.
