A United States senator known for his anti-Türkiye stance was awarded a medal by the Greek Cypriot Orthodox Church during a visit to Greek Cypriot-run southern Cyprus on Thursday.
Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, received the Gold Medal of Apostle Barnabas from Archbishop Georgios "for his contribution to the struggle of the Greek Cypriots for justice and liberty," several local media outlets reported.
Menendez also held several meetings, including with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Annita Demetriou, the president of the House of Representatives in the Greek Cypriot administration.
The senator from the U.S. state of New Jersey is known for his ties to the U.S.' Greek and Armenian lobbies and has repeatedly expressed his opposition to the Biden administration's potential sale of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Türkiye.
Menendez's visit came after the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) intervened last week in road construction work to link the Turkish Cypriot village of Pile in the buffer zone with the rest of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).
On Thursday, he vowed to "continue fighting until Turkish troops withdraw from the island" in remarks that made headlines in Greek newspapers.
"What’s happening in Pile is an unacceptable attack," Menendez claimed, calling Turkish soldiers stationed in the north since the 1970s to protect the rights and interests of Türkiye and the TRNC "occupiers."
"Forty thousand Turkish soldiers have illegally occupied 36% of the Republic of Cyprus so far, making it one of the most militarized places in the world," he said.
Accusing Türkiye of intending to "annex" Cyprus, Menendez warned the Greek Cypriote administration to "be on guard for (President Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan can change his mind any moment."
He believes the U.S. will have a "key role in supporting Cyprus’ struggle for reunification, peace and security" and that the fight for Cyprus will "not end until all Turkish soldiers wholly leave the island."
No U.N. response
Also on Thursday, the world body did not explain why it tried to prevent the Pile-Yiğitler road construction but took no action against projects initiated by Greek Cypriots.
During a press briefing in New York, an Anadolu Agency (AA) reporter asked U.N. associate spokesperson Florencia Soto Nino about the response from the U.N. and U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) to actions of the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot administration.
The reporter cited notable occasions from 1996, 2003, 2004, 2012 and 2020 when the Greek side carried out construction, military fortification and built a university in violation of the buffer zone, some of which the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs says impedes Turkish Cypriot property and all of which the UNFICYP failed to condemn or intervene in.
The Turkish Cypriot side has said the Pile-Yiğitler project was a humanitarian one and vital for access, the reporter noted and asked how would the U.N. explain the "clear difference of treatment" when it’s obliged to treat both sides equally.
Nino left the question unanswered and said she did not have all the files with her and had to look into more details.
"I will have to look into this because I do not have all the movements of the Cyprus peacekeeping mission. I would encourage you to contact them first, but I'll get back to you on that," she said.
The spokesperson has yet to respond after the question was forwarded via email, AA reported late Thursday.
The road expansion, which the Turkish side has sought to build since 2001, is strategically important for residents as it will give them more options to reach Pile, where Turks and Greek Cypriots live side by side.
Residents of Pile will be able to travel shorter distances and will not have to pass through British bases when crossing to the Turkish side when the 11.6-kilometer (7.2-mile) construction and repair work ends.
The first 7.5 kilometers of the road will pass through the village of Yigitler, and the second 4.1 kilometers will pass through Pile.
Türkiye too has been firm in slamming the U.N. for violating its principle of neutrality, with its Foreign Ministry saying, "The TRNC will decide whether the construction of the road will continue or not."
Earlier this week, Erdoğan called U.N. peacekeepers’ intervention "unacceptable" and said tensions in the region have escalated again due to these attitudes that are "incompatible" with international law. "We certainly do not find this intervention in good faith when we are trying to mutually strengthen our relations with our neighbors and clear up the problems between us."
The region has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.