ANKARA
Recent actions by the UN peacekeeping force on Cyprus are “incompatible with the founding spirit of the UN,” Türkiye said on Tuesday.
“The recent events have unfortunately once again demonstrated how some practices of the UN on the island do not actually align with the founding spirit of the UN,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a news conference with visiting Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mariya Gabriel in the capital Ankara.
Fidan’s remarks came after the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) last week intervened in road construction work to link the Turkish Cypriot village of Pile in the buffer zone with the rest of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
The road expansion is strategically important for residents as it will give them more options to reach Pile, where Turks and Greek Cypriots live together.
The Greek Cypriot administration and the UN are opposed to the project.
Residents of Pile will be able to travel shorter distances and will not have to pass through British bases when crossing to the Turkish side when the 11.6-kilometer (7.2-mile) construction and repair work ends.
The first 7.5 km of the road will pass through Yigitler, and the second 4.1 km will pass through Pile.
Türkiye observes that the civilian and military presence of the UN on the island is in a lack of coordination within itself, Fidan said, adding that Ankara did not welcome the sudden accumulation of UN vehicles in the buffer zone.
“We think that the UN has lost its neutrality on this issue,” he added.
Türkiye will keep supporting Northern Cyprus in every field, including for its recognition by the whole world, Fidan underlined.
Bilateral ties with Bulgaria
Fidan and Gabriel also discussed bilateral relations, Türkiye’s EU membership process, and regional and international issues.
Gabriel, for her part, said Bulgaria strongly supports Ankara’s EU membership.
Enjoying friendly and neighborly relations, Türkiye has supported Bulgaria’s integration with Euro-Atlantic institutions.
Sofia joined NATO in 2004 and became an EU member in 2007.
