The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to a statement issued by the Greek Cypriot Foreign Ministry regarding Nigerian students studying in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

“The Greek Cypriot side is exploiting the issue of irregular migration to defame our country and Türkiye by making baseless claims. The Greek Cypriot Administration has made it a priority to use this issue for its own benefit. Therefore, it chooses not to respond positively to the constructive proposal made by President Ersin Tatar regarding irregular migration, which is a global challenge that also affects the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot Administration,” the foreign ministry said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had hit back at a statement issued by the Greek Cypriot administration regarding Nigerian students who are in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for higher education. It said that the Greek Cypriot side’s statement revealed that its only aim was to defame the TRNC and the Republic of Türkiye by distorting the facts.

It added that the statement came as no surprise, particularly in light of the fact that the Greek Cypriot Administration, which is one of the main architects of the failure of all negotiation processes carried out to date, frequently resorted to spreading disinformation about the TRNC.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Greek Cypriot Administration is on a mission to prevent any steps or moves that would help the economic development of the Turkish Cypriot people. Within the framework of its efforts, the Greek Cypriot side is constantly trying to undermine the success of the TRNC’s successful accomplishments in higher education”, the statement added.

“The Greek Cypriot side is exploiting the issue of irregular migration to defame our country and Türkiye by making baseless claims. The Greek Cypriot Administration has made it a priority to use this issue for its own benefit. Therefore, it chooses not to respond positively to the constructive proposal made by President Ersin Tatar regarding irregular migration, which is a global challenge that also affects the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot Administration,” the TRNC Foreign Ministry noted.