NICOSIA, Cyprus — Turkish Cypriots on Sunday celebrated Turkey’s military invasion of Cyprus that cleaved the island nation along ethnic lines 51 years ago. Turkey’s president reaffirmed his full backing for a controversial peace deal that envisions the establishment of two separate states.

It’s a proposal that the majority Greek Cypriots in the island’s internationally recognized southern part reject out of hand. It would formalize Cyprus’ partition and give Turkey a permanent foothold they see as a bid for control of the entire, strategically situated country and its offshore hydrocarbon wealth.

“Our support for (Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s) vision for a two-state solution is absolute,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in remarks to a crowd during celebrations that culminated with a military parade.

“It is time for the international community to come to terms with the facts on the ground,” Erdogan added, urging the international community to establish diplomatic and economic relations with the breakaway state that Turkish Cypriots declared in 1983.

— The Associated Press