Turkey marks 45th anniversary of Cyprus peace operation

'We will always stand by Turkish Cypriots and protect their benefits,' says vice president

By Muhammed Nuri Erdogan

ANKARA (AA) –Turkey’s vice president marked the 45th anniversary of the country’s peace operation on the island of Cyprus on Saturday.

“Happy 45th anniversary of Cyprus Peace Operation, which brought peace to the island of Cyprus and ended the cruelty against our brothers and sisters,” Fuat Oktay wrote on Twitter.

Remembering both martyrs and veterans, Oktay said: “We will always stand by Turkish Cypriots and protect their benefits.”

July 20 Peace and Freedom Day in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus commemorates Turkey’s Cyprus Peace Operation -- a huge military intervention to protect Turkish Cypriots from the violence which struck the island in 1974.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.

The latest attempt to reunify the long-divided Mediterranean island failed in 2017 after two years of negotiations.

Kaynak:

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