ISTANBUL  -  Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that his country was ready to build a Cyprus naval base “if necessary”, 50 years after Turkish forces invaded the now-divided island.

“If necessary, we can construct a base and naval structures in the north” of the divided island, the official Anadolu news agency reported him as saying. “We also have the sea,” Erdogan said he flew back to Türkiye after visiting northern Cyprus on Saturday to mark 50 years since Turkey’s invasion.

He also accused  Greece of wanting to establish a naval base of its own on Cyprus, on whose future both sides remain as divided as ever.

“We are constructing on the island the building of the presidency of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and the parliament building. They are constructing a military base, we are building a political base,” Erdogan added.

He also hailed the “precious” presence during Saturday’s visit of the leader of Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Ozgur Ozel.