Ankara: Trkiye on Thursday criticized a proposal in the European Parliament to allocate funding for what Ankara described as a monument intended to "slander" the Turkish Armed Forces over the Cyprus issue. "The allegations put forward by the Greek Cypriot side distort historical facts and politicize them," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to Anadolu Agency, the ministry learned that the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, in its opinion on the EU's 2027 budget, recommended allocating funds for a so-called monument to be built by the Greek Cypriot Administration with the aim of "slandering" the Turkish Armed Forces. The statement said the Turkish Armed Forces prevented the destruction of the Turkish Cypriot people through the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation and brought peace to the entire island that has lasted for more than half a century.

The ministry further stated, "Instead of contributing to a settlement of the Cyprus issue, EU institutions are moving away from the principles of impartiality and justice and allowing themselves to become instruments of Greek Cypriot propaganda, further undermining trust between the two communities." The statement concluded with a call to EU officials, urging them not to become tools of circles that seek, with every step they take, to push Trkiye further away from the EU.