Turkish Vice President: "Greek Cypriots invaded Cyprus"

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay is in the occupied territories of northern Cyprus and had a meeting with the so-called "Prime Minister" of Turkish-speaking Cypriots, Ersan Saner.

Oktay said his visit is to prepare for the Turkish President's visit on July 20.

He will visit various ongoing projects in the occupied territories of northern Cyprus.

The Turkish Vice President claimed that July 20 is an anniversary on which Turkish-speaking Cypriots were "liberated", adding that the Turkish-speaking Cypriots have a centuries-old history on the island and are the real owners of the island.

Oktay's claims are not entirely baseless when considering genetic testing found that Turkish-speaking Cypriots are Turkified Greek Cypriots with almost identical genetic makeup.

The Turkish Vice President said that the "invaders" (Greece and Greek-Cypriots) are now trying to change the realities but will not succeed.

Saner said that when the pseudo-state and Turkey work together then there is nothing they cannot achieve, such as the issue of hydrocarbons.

He claimed that there is indeed an issue of occupation in Cyprus but it concerns the invasion of the Republic of Cyprus by the Greek Cypriots, a position completely rejected by the international community, including the United Nations.

Turkey, he argued, invaded Cyprus in 1974 on the basis of guarantees and brought freedom to the Turkish-speaking Cypriots.

Finally, he said that the pseudo-state is getting stronger with the support of Turkey.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 541 and UN Security Council Resolution 550 recognises the so-called “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” as an illegal entity.

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