Offers made by Turkish Cypriots for help in fighting a wildfire in the Limassol district, which killed two and caused dozens to be evacuated from their homes, were rejected by the government, its spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said on Thursday afternoon.

He said he had been informed of an offer made by Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor Mehmet Harmanci via Greek Cypriot chief negotiator Menelaos Menelaou, but that the government currently has at its disposal “sufficient ground forces”.

“Our needs concern mainly firefighting aircraft,” he added.

Harmanci was one of four Turkish Cypriot politicians to offer help, announcing in a bilingual statement in Turkish and Greek that he had offered condolences to Limassol mayor Yiannis Armeftis and “stated that we are ready to provide all possible support to bring the fires under control as soon as possible”.

“Our island and its unique nature are our shared heritage. I once again extend my condolences to everyone affected by the ongoing fires in Limassol, Paphos, and the surrounding areas, and I wholeheartedly hope that the fires will be brought under control as soon as possible,” he said.

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar had also offered assistance, saying, “we are all saddened by the fact that many settlements have had to be evacuated”, and adding that he is “closely monitoring developments”.

“We have stated that we are ready to contribute to firefighting efforts, as a matter of humanitarian responsibility, in the face of such disasters which threaten human life and the environment,” he said.

He added that an “offer of support and assistance for firefighting” has been conveyed to the United Nations, and that his special representative Gunes Onar has directly contacted Greek Cypriot chief negotiator Menelaos Menelaou.

Onar informed Menelaou “that equipment, personnel, and technical support will be available through the relevant technical committee mechanism if needed”.

“Our teams are on standby. I hope that the disaster will be brought under control as soon as possible, and I offer my best wishes to the affected areas,” he said.

Turkish Cypriot Kyrenia mayor Murat Senkul confirmed that his municipality’s “natural disaster-trained municipal police unit” is “ready to respond” to the fire if requested.

“I hope there will be no need, but if a request is made, the Kyrenia municipality is ready to provide support,” he added.

Likewise, Turkish Cypriot Kioneli and Yerolakkos mayor Huseyin Amcaoglu said his municipality has at its disposal workers who are “ready and trained to intervene in natural disasters”, and that they are at the disposal of the Republic of Cyprus should a request be made.

On Thursday afternoon, former Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci urged the Republic to “break their own taboo” regarding receiving help from the Turkish Cypriots during times of crisis.

“The leaders of the day did not accept an offer of help from the Greek Cypriot administration when the Kyrenia mountains were on fire in 1995. In 2016, when the Troodos mountains were burning, our offer of help was also rejected by the Greek Cypriot administration,” he said.

He added that for the Turkish Cypriot side, “this taboo was broken in May 2020” during a fire which broke out near the village of Kapouti, north of Morphou, when Akinci accepted former president Nicos Anastasiades’ offer of the use of a firefighting plane and helicopter.

“I hope that now, the Greek Cypriot administration will manage to break their own taboo, too. Achieving help and solidarity beyond all political obstacles in the face of very possible disasters, today and in the future, is the greatest responsibility for coexistence on this island,” he said.