Türkiye on Monday strongly condemned the Greek Cypriot administration's inclusion in a U.S. military partnership program, saying Ankara will continue to take all necessary steps to ensure the security of the Turkish Cypriot people.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement said it strongly condemned the Greek Cypriot administration's "inclusion in the National Guard Bureau's State Partnership Program, under the scope of the U.S. Department of Defense."

"From our point of view, the latest move of the U.S., two weeks after lifting the arms embargo on Greek Cypriot administration, has no justification," the statement said.

It further noted that the U.S.' latest move is "going beyond disrupting the balance between the two sides on the Island, the U.S. has evidently become partial."

"With such moves, the U.S. is losing its opportunity to play a constructive role for a fair, permanent and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus issue," it added.

Türkiye also vowed to continue taking "all necessary steps to ensure the security of Turkish Cypriot people," as a guarantor state.

"We support the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) regarding the issue," it added.

Last week, the U.S. announced that under the Defense Department National Guard's State Partnership Program, the Greek Cypriot administration has been paired with the National Guard in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

The TRNC earlier on Monday lashed out at the U.S. move to include the Greek Cypriot administration in the Pentagon military partnership program.

The Foreign Ministry of the TRNC said the country can "never accept the support and encouragement of the Greek Cypriot administration by the U.S. administration in the military and political arena."

With the move, Washington, which on Sept. 16 lifted an arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration that had been in force since 1987, continues its provocative attitude towards the TRNC and Türkiye, according to the TRNC.

Türkiye has recently ramped up the criticism of its NATO ally United States for abandoning a balanced policy and escalating tensions on the issues of Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean, reiterating that it will protect its rights and interests against the Greek side.

The recent U.S. decision to lift the arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration has disrupted its balanced policy on the island and made Washington completely pro-Greek Cypriot, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said last week.

"For years, the U.S. had a balanced policy on the island. It was following a balanced policy between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots and also Türkiye and Greece. Now, for the last two years, it has been moving away from this balanced policy," Çavuşoğlu said.

Pledging to do whatever is necessary amid the latest U.S. moves, he stressed that Türkiye will respond with concrete steps.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the move, saying it is "in contradiction to the principle of equality of the two sides on the island, and will further strengthen the Greek Cypriot side's intransigence, will negatively affect the efforts to resettle the Cyprus issue, and will lead to an arms race on the island, harming peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean."

Also, Türkiye last week reiterated that it will take all measures to protect Turkish Cypriots following the U.S. decision to lift an arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration.

Çavuşoğlu said Ankara "will deploy more forces to protect Turkish Cypriots and provide them everything they need in terms of weapons."

He also stressed that Türkiye will continue to protect its rights pertaining to Cyprus, as well as the Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

Türkiye has many times invited its NATO ally United States to adopt a neutral stance on the Cyprus issue.

Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.'s Annan plan to end the longstanding dispute.

Today, the Turkish side supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.

Türkiye, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots.