Turkish Cypriot Leader Ersin Tatar on Friday urged countries stationing troops and military equipment in Cyprus to “not involve” the island in the ongoing crisis.

Tatar was in the Turkish city of Canakkale as part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey and took the opportunity to criticise foreign countries stationing troops and military equipment in Cyprus.

The United Kingdom took the brunt of Tatar’s criticism. He said, “as a guarantor country, the United Kingdom has sovereign bases in Cyprus, but they and other countries should not involve Cyprus in such a painful tragedy”.

In addition, he reiterated his criticism of the arrival of German special forces on the island, saying “the Republic of Turkey is a guarantor country and must be notified of such decisions. Unilateral steps are not right.”

He went on to describe the ongoing situation in Gaza as a “human tragedy” and called for an end to the violence “as soon as possible”.