Türkiye has denied claims that Turkish ports would be open to Greek Cypriot ships in exchange for facilitating EU visas for businesspeople.

“The claims in the Greek Cypriot press that our ports would open to Greek Cypriot ships in exchange for facilitating EU visas for our businesspeople are fictitious,” Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Keceli said on X on Monday.

Türkiye objects to the Greek Cypriot Administration posing as the government for the entire island, ignoring its neighbour, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

In a 2004 referendum, the Greek Cypriot Administration rejected a UN plan for uniting the island, just before the administration joined the EU later that year, falsely claiming to represent the entire island.