Deputy Chairman and the Spokesman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party Ömer Çelik on Thursday said that the Turkish Armed Forces will continue to be the guardians of peace in Cyprus.

Responding to reporters’ questions at the party headquarters in Ankara on Thursday as the party’s central executive board meeting headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was continuing, Çelik slammed the US Senator Bob Menendez for his latest remarks on the presence of Turkish troops on the island.

“Menendez will not and cannot see the Turkish soldiers leaving Cyprus. He is dreaming. The Turkish Armed Forces is the guarantor of peace in Cyprus, its presence in Cyprus is not without a reason. Everyone knows why the Turkish Armed Forces went to Cyprus as part of the Peace Operation. To say out of the blue that the Turkish Armed Forces should leave Cyprus is to basically say that Cyprus should become a Greek island. It means saying that organisations such as EOKA which carried out atrocities should emerge again,” Çelik said.

Pointing out that there have been numerous incidents in the past when visiting teams or ordinary people were subjected to violence in South Cyprus, the AKP spokesman said that the Turkish Armed Forces will continue to be the guarantor of peace in Cyprus and will continue to contribute to the security of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.