Today Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis’ (NY-11) resolution “Condemning Turkey for its repeated aggression toward Cyprus,” was reported out of the House Foreign Affairs Committee with bipartisan support. Currently, Turkish aggression in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean regions threatens the partnership between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Malliotakis has been a relentless advocate for Cyprus’ independence and has called on the Biden Administration to make resolving this issue a top foreign policy priority.
In 1974, the Turkish government ordered its military to invade the Republic of Cyprus. Since then, Turkey, led by authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has tolerated or abetted the desecration of more than 500 Orthodox Christian churches in Cyprus, brought over 200,000 illegal settlers to the geographic area, and despite having agreed to do so, failed to support international efforts to find and identify the remains of persons, including four U.S. citizens who have been missing since 1974.
In October 2020, Turkish President Erdogan illegally reopened parts of the Varosha beachfront and the Turkish Cypriots, with President Erdogan’s support, announced the partial reopening of the town of Varosha on July 20, 2021, both of which are inconsistent with United Nations Security Council resolutions.
“Turkey has been illegally occupying Cyprus for nearly 50 years, violating several international treaties, including the North Atlantic Treaty and the Treaty of Guarantee, which established and guaranteed Cyprus’ independence,” said Congresswoman Malliotakis. “With Turkey only becoming more aggressive towards Cyprus and our allies in the Eastern Mediterranean, it’s critically important for the United States to stand with our allies in support of freedom and democracy. I’m pleased to see my colleagues stand with me in condemning Turkey’s illegal acts and will continue to push for the reunification of Cyprus and the return of Varosha to its native Greek Cypriot inhabitants.”
Specifically, Malliotakis’ resolution: