Nicosia: The National Guard General Staff has made all necessary representations in relation to the violation of the Cypriot airspace by Turkish F16 fighter jets on Saturday.
According to Cyprus News Agency, four Turkish F16 that took part in the “celebrations” in the Turkish occupied territories of Cyprus for the 42nd anniversary of the illegal declaration of the pseudo-state, violated the airspace of the Republic of Cyprus, while two of them flew over the Buffer Zone. The General Staff of the National Guard has made all necessary representations, sources told CNA.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974. Repeated rounds of UN-led peace talks have so far failed to yield results. The latest round of negotiations, in July 2017 at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana ended inconclusively.
An illegal breakaway entity declared independence unilaterally, on November 15, 1983, in the areas under Turkish occupation, an action condemned by the UN Security Council and the international community as legally null and void.
The illegal declaration followed the partition of the island after the Turkish military invaded Cyprus in 1974, occupying one third of its territory ever since.