Cyprus got drawn into a war of words between Israel and Turkey at the weekend after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan verbally attacked the former.

“Everyone is aware of what Turkey has done to nations and peoples in the region, from Cyprus to Syria […] and Pikachu,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on Sunday.

Reacting to remarks by Erdoğan that “Allah will destroy Zionist Israel”, Sa’ar said in a post on X that “the true face has been exposed to all.”

“Here’s a way to clarify the dictator’s words: Clearly state that Erdogan is not an antisemite, that he is not an obsessive hater of the Jewish state. Everyone knows what Erdogan has done to nations and peoples in the region – from Cyprus to Syria. Everyone sees what he does to his own people (and to Pikachu). And everyone hears what he wants to do to the Jewish state,” Sa’ar said.

His reference to Pikachu follows a video that has gone viral on social media of a person dressed as the character running away during demonstrations in Turkey against the arrest of his Erdogan’s main rival for president Ekrem Imamoglu.

Sa’ar expressed hope that Nato countries would see how dangerous Erdogan is to the region and his own people the soonest possible.

The Turkish foreign ministry refuted Sa’ar’s “disrespectful and baseless allegations”, saying Israel was trying to cover up its own crimes.

Turkey also expressed concern that “Israel will accelerate its genocidal policies in Gaza and intensify its actions aimed at destabilising other countries in the region.”