President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey on Sunday visited disputed territory in northern Cyprus that is occupied by Turkish forces, angering Cypriot and Greek leaders and stoking a decades-long conflict. The Turkish president said there were “two different peoples” on the island with “two different democratic orders.”It was a tense turn in a dispute that has frustrated generations of peace efforts. The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus controls about two-thirds of the island. Turkey invaded the northern part of the island in 1974 and recognizes that area as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The visit comes as Turkey has increasingly butted heads with Greece and other eastern Mediterranean countries over rich natural-gas deposits in the region — a dispute that is becoming increasingly militarized.

Source: International New York Times November 15, 2020 18:22 UTC