ATHENS – Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Greece’s Defense Minister Nikos Dendias broke an agreement not to be provocative over the 50th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus by calling Turkey the island’s invaders.

He said that Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis should reprimand Dendias for broaching what Erdogan said was a deal he had with Mitsotakis to be low key during the anniversary, both leaders visiting Cyprus.

Returning from the Turkish-Cypriot occupied northern third of the island that no country apart from Turkey recognizes, Erdogan told reporters of the agreement with Mitsotakis during a detente that has also kept Cyprus off the agenda.

“I told him that there won’t be remarks that will irk each side and he said he shared the same view. However, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias unfortunately had something different in mind,” he told Turkey’s pro-government The Daily Sabah.

“Obviously, he was not aware of our talk with Mitsotakis and he spoke ill … calling Turks ‘invaders’ is an immoral, tactless expression. Mr. Mitsotakis should put this minister of his in his place,” said Erdogan.

Turkey’s state Anadolu Agency said Erdogan repeated Turkey’s stance that the invasion in response to a coup engineered by Greece’s then-ruling military junta in an attempt at unifying the island with Greece was a peace operation.

“Of course, this situation does not require us to remain silent in the face of such delusions. As everyone knows well, Turkey conducted the Cyprus Peace Operation, as the name suggests, for peace, and as a result of this intervention, peace was established,” he stated.

While United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guturres has sent another Special Envoy to get the Greek-Cypriot and Turkish-Cypriot sides negotiating reunification again, Erdogan said that’s not going to happen.

“We don’t see the possibility of starting a new negotiation process in Cyprus without establishing an equation where both sides sit at the table as equals and leave as equals,” said Erdogan, who repeated his call for a two-state solution.

He also said that Turkey may build a naval base on the occupied, northern part of the island if Greece does the same in the south, both countries – along with the former Colonial ruler the United Kingdom – being guarantors of security there.