Turkey on Tuesday dismissed statements from the EU's foreign policy chief on Cyprus as "null and void" and said Brussels had no role to play in settling the decades-old dispute.
The foreign ministry said in a statement that criticism of Turkey from the EU's Josep Borrell showed he was "acting as spokesperson or advocate for the Greek Cypriot administration and Greece who abuse their right to veto within the EU", according to Agence France Presse.
Earlier in the day, Borrell slammed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements on reopening the Cypriot ghost town of Varosha made during a controversial visit to the divided Mediterranean island and warned against "unilateral actions in breach of international law and renewed provocations".
Erdogan vowed that "life will restart in Varosha" as he took an uncompromising stance during a visit to mark 47 years since the invasion that split Cyprus.
The Turkish foreign ministry said Borrell's statement was "another proof of how much the EU is disconnected from the realities on the Cyprus issue," adding with this approach the bloc cannot play any positive role in solving the problem.
The ministry also said Ankara extended "full support" for Turkish Cypriot authorities' decision on the issue of Varosha.
