Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday lambasted the Greek Cypriot leadership for “boarding Israel’s ship of discord” and “undertaking the role of subcontractors for Zionism” as he addressed MPs from his AK Party.

“We are now witnessing an attempt to ignite a fire of discord in the Mediterranean, particularly on the island of Cyprus, and we are following developments very closely. Some small entities, whose ambitions far exceed their size, have boarded Israel’s ship of discord, undertaking the role of subcontractors for Zionism,” he said.

He added that those actors are “supposedly pursuing some pipe dreams” in the region.

“I state very clearly: no one should pursue such an adventure. No one should follow the trail of the Zionist network of murderers. If the rights and laws of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots are threatened in the eastern Mediterranean, I want it to be known that our response will be very harsh,” he said.

Of Israel, he said that the country has become “emboldened by the international community’s silence” and is as such “acting with extreme arrogance, hindering our region from achieving overall peace, tranquillity, and security”.

“Bringing Israel back within the bounds of the rule of law is no longer just a matter for certain countries, but a shared concern for humanity. The attacks on Iran and Lebanon have had a negative impact not only on countries of the region, but also on a global scale,” he said.

“Israel’s aggressive stance is a threat to our region,” he added, before drawing parallels between the actions undertaken by the modern State of Israel and the course charted by Nazi Germany.

His comments come with the energy ministers of Cyprus and Israel, alongside those of Greece and the United States, are set to meet in Houston, Texas, on Thursday, with Cypriot Energy Minister Michael Damianos having said that the aim of that meeting will be to “deepen cooperation and formulate specific next steps”.

Those next steps will include the creation of an “Eastern Mediterranean energy centre”,which Damianos said will provide “significant technocratic support” for energy projects and infrastructure issues.

Previously, Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel extolled the “alliance of stability” her country has formed with both Greece and Cyprus.

“Look at what is happening around the world – so much war, instability, the radicalisation of so many countries, whether it is Iraq, Lebanon, and the Iranian army of Hezbollah, the [Islamic revolutionary guards], the army of Hezbollah has been destroying the country,” she told Greek public broadcaster ERT last month.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, however, has drawn the opposite conclusion, and warned the Greek Cypriot side against gravitating politically towards Israel.

“If an alliance is formed with a state which kills children, and this is done by violating the will and sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot people, I will explain this to the entire international community. This is a violation of my sovereign rights, my equal sovereign rights,” he said.