by EuroNews
It’s published
•update
Turkish Labour MPs and British trade missions resigned on August 8 after criticism of his visit to northern Cyprus.
After it declared the “Turkey Republic in Northern Cyprus” following the Turkish invasion and island occupation in 1974, its territory has not been recognized as any other country other than Britain or Turkey.
Khan told reporters that he himself paid for the trip, visited his family and earned an honorary degree from the university. However, during his trip he also met El Sin Tatar, the leader of Cyprus in Turkish. This has sparked considerable backlash from the Cypriot government and within the UK.
The internationally recognized government of the Republic of Cyprus, based in the south, which speaks the island nation’s mostly Greek, called his actions at the time “absolutely condemn them and unacceptable.” Before the UK Foreign Office accepted his resignation last week on Friday, Khan’s visit was “on personal capacity,” he said in a statement last week.
A statement from the Cyprus Foreign Ministry on Saturday welcomed his resignation, calling it “an important development that is even more important at this particular time.”
In a letter to British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer, Khan said, “It is best not to divert from the efforts the government is making to ensure the best possible trade deals for this country.”
Last month, Cyprus marked 51 years since the Turkish military invasion that led to the division of the island nation.
The Turkish invasion came shortly after a coup staged by Athenian military junta supporters uniting Cyprus with Greece. Currently, it recognizes Turkish Declaration of Independence and Turkish Declaration of Cyprus, maintaining a troop of 35,000 people in the north.
Although talks are underway to reunite the country, a meeting held between the two sides in New York in July concluded without resolving a significant dispute.
