On 24 August, US Senator Bob Menendez referred to the recent incident on the island of Cyprus. Ermenihaber writes.

“As a result of the illegal occupation of 36 percent of the Republic of Cyprus by 40,000 Turkish soldiers until today (referring to the 1974 occupation), this place has turned into one of the most militarized places in the world.”

In addition, the chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who went to the Republic of Cyprus immediately after the incident, stated that he will continue his struggle until the Turkish soldiers in Cyprus are withdrawn from the island.

Such statements of Menendez were described in the Turkish press as “provocative” statements, and attention was also drawn to the fact that a member of the US Senate called the Turkish military “occupants”.

The Turkish media describes Menendez as a person known for his anti-Turkish stance.

It should be noted that on 18 August, the UN peacekeepers in Cyprus suffered as a result of the aggressive actions of the Turkish Cypriots. In the buffer zone separating the island, Turkish Cypriots in police and military uniforms dragged the peacekeepers, bulldozed the cement pillars and barbed wire under the control of the United Nations.

The incident took place in the 4th sector of the buffer zone, under the control of Slovak peacekeepers.