A visit by the UK’s Turkey trade envoy to northern Cyprus has escalated into a diplomatic spat.
The Cypriot government condemned the ‘unacceptable’ trip to the breakaway state by Labour’s Afzal Khan, piling pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to sack him.
Britain, in common with the rest of the world barring Turkey, does not recognise the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Despite this, the MP for Manchester Rusholme has this week visited the northern statelet to the fury of Greek Cypriots, who accused him of breaking international agreements.
They regard the Turkish-controlled north as a rogue state and have called for the 30,000 troops stationed there to leave.
Yesterday, anger increased over the trip, which saw Mr Khan meet the leader of northern Cyprus in his official residence.
Konstantinos Letymbiotis, a spokesman for the Nicosia government, said the visit was ‘absolutely condemnable and unacceptable’ as he insisted UK officials should ‘respect’ the state of Cyprus.
He claimed Mr Khan’s actions ‘constitute an attempt to create false impressions and are in complete contradiction with the established position of all British governments’.
Mr Letymbiotis said: ‘We expect all UK officials to show respect for their country’s policy as well as for the bilateral relations between Cyprus and the UK.’
Cyprus has been a divided island for more than 50 years following a Turkish invasion that left hundreds dead and thousands displaced.
The Tories have written to foreign minister Stephen Doughty calling for Mr Khan to be dismissed from his role, saying the trip sent a ‘worrying signal’.
Wendy Morton, shadow foreign affairs minister, wrote: ‘This visit risks undermining the UK’s credibility as a guarantor power and as an impartial interlocutor in settlement negotiations.’
The Prime Minister’s spokesman has said the visit was carried out in a ‘personal capacity’.
Ersin Tatar, the leader of northern Cyprus, also waded into the row by criticising the ‘intolerant statements and excessive attacks made by the Greek Cypriot side’. He said the visit was undertaken ‘at my invitation’.
The Foreign Office did not respond to requests for comment.
