The Turkish military invasion of Cyprus in 1974 constitutes a blatant violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Cyprus, Greek diplomats said, responding to a statement made by Russia’s foreign ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Wednesday.

Zakharova referenced the Greek military junta-sponsored coup d’état, staged in Cyprus in 1974, as part of a terse reply to Finnish Foreign Minister Elita Valtonen, who had previously criticised Russia’s foreign policy.

“It is recalled that the Helsinki Act was signed in August 1975. Regarding the unfortunate reference to the coup of 1974, that is, one year before the signing of the final act, we emphasize that all democratically elected Greek governments from 1974 to the present and all of Greece’s political forces have unequivocally condemned it,” diplomatic sources said.

They emphasised that the international community had repeatedly expressed its views on the Cyprus problem as an international issue of invasion and occupation, in direct violation of the UN charter and the resolutions of the UN Security Council.

“(…) Let us all reflect that once upon a time, conferences were held that left an indelible mark on the history of international relations. In Helsinki in 1975, the historic breakthrough of the institutionalization of the peaceful coexistence of states and the definition of the principles that would govern relations between them took place,” the sources concluded.

Finnish Foreign Minister Elita Valtonen had said Russia’s foreign policy “violates each of the ten Helsinki principles”, a set of principles signed in Helsinki in 1975 by most European countries, which aim to “guide relations between participating states”.

In her response, Zacharova said the principles “are indeed being violated”, before using the Greek junta’s actions in Cyprus as her example of a violation of the first principle – the principle of sovereign equality and respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty.

She highlighted “the intervention of the Black Colonels’ junta in Greece in the interethnic conflict in Cyprus, attempting to annex the island to Greece”, though the coup d’état did take place before the signing of the Helsinki principles.