Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday denounced what he described as “ill-intentioned” calls for a withdrawal of Turkish troops from Cyprus and the scrapping of the guarantees system that was established on the island when it gained independence which made Greece, Turkey and Britain guarantor powers.



In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Erdogan reiterated that Turkey will protect the security, legal rights and interests of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean. He noted however that he is open to “win-win” proposals.



Meanwhile, Ankara maintained tensions over the Eastern Mediterranean with a series of overflights by Turkish jets over the islands of Kastellorizo and Ro.