Istanbul:
Turkey said Tuesday it will defy a European court order to pay 90 million euros ($124 million) in compensation to Greek Cypriots over its 1974 invasion of the island.
The European Court of Human Rights ordered Turkey to pay the damages this week, 13 years after finding it guilty of "massive and continuous" rights violations against Greek Cypriots on the island.
The court ruling said 30 million euros should go to the families of people who disappeared after the invasion, and the rest to enclaved Greek Cypriots in the north of the divided island.
But Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his country would not be bound by the ruling.
"Considering the grounds of this ruling, its method, and the fact that it is a country that Turkey does not recognize, we do do not find it necessary to make this payment," he said.
"We do not see the ruling as binding in terms of payment as it consists of legal contradictions," he said without elaborating.
The eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been divided since Turkish troops occupied the northern third in 1974 in response to an Athens-engineered coup aimed at uniting it with Greece.
Today Cyprus is split between the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state in the north recognised only by Ankara and the southern Greek Cypriot state, which is predominantly ethnic Greek and joined the European Union in May 2004.
Davutoglu said the court ruling had "dealt the biggest blow" to the peace process after UN-sponsored talks over Cyprus got back under way in February.
"If a comprehensive solution is desired, everyone should be aware of their responsibilities," he said.
US Vice President Joe Biden is expected to visit the island later this month to help push forward the peace process.