On Tuesday, Cyprus' breakaway Turkish north, backed by Ankara, unilaterally demilitarized the UN-protected quarter of Varosha. The UN Security Council condemned the move on Friday, saying that it violated all previous UN resolutions on Cyprus.
"We reject the Presidential Statement made by the UN Security Council on the second phase of the Maras initiative [Turkish toponym for Varosha] ... as well as the statements from various countries which are based on unfounded claims and inconsistent with the realities on the Island," the press release read.
The Turkish ministry described the UNSC statement as "based on Greek-Greek Cypriot black propaganda and groundless claims," stressing that the UN resolutions "are not above property and sovereignty rights."