Prime Minister Faiz Sucuoğlu condemned the attack on the Grand Mosque in Larnaca.

In a statement issued on Sunday, Sucuoğlu said that attacks carried out at a time when calls for dialogue were being made only served to push away the two peoples from each other.

He too called on the Greek Cypriot administration to arrest those responsible and to bring them to justice as soon as possible.

The prime minister said that the attack carried out just hours after the arrival of Pope Francis II in South Cyprus cast a dark shadow over the messages of peace.

He also said that the incident was proof that the fascist and aggressive mentality that prompted the attacks against Turkish Cypriots in 1963 still prevailed and will always prevail within the Greek Cypriot community.

Sucuoğlu said that the desecration of holy and sacred sites was deemed a serious crime in Islam and Turkish Cypriot culture.