The Greek and Cypriot diasporas in the United States sent a letter to President Donald Trump asking him to impose sanctions against Turkey for illegally opening the fenced city of Varosha.

The open letter, published in the Washington Times, is entitled “Dear President Trump, tell Erdogan to get his hands off Varosha” and is signed by a number of organizations – AHEPA, ΑΗΙ, PSEKA, HALC and FCAO.

These organizations, as well as American Greeks and Cypriots across the country, expressed outrage at Turkey’s illegal opening of the coastal town of Varosha in Cyprus. In their opinion, Varosha should remain a symbol of potential peace and after several decades as a “ghost town” can return to life only as part of free Cyprus to mark the end of the Turkish occupation.

The authors of the letter emphasized that Turkey had neglected numerous UN Security Council resolutions and the long-standing policy of the U.S. and EU, mentioning in particular Ankara’s recent purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems and their testing.

“Mr. President, in case of pastor Brunson (American pastor, who worked and preached in Turkey, was under investigation on accusation of espionage and terrorism – ed.) you brought Turkey to responsibility for violation of human rights. It is time to do it again. Inform President Erdogan that if he continues to open up Varosha and his other destabilizing actions, you will move on to anti-Turkish sanctions,” the letter said.