Soldiers mounted on horses are to be stationed outside Ersin Tatar’s new official residence in Ayios Dhometios when it opens, according to reports circulating on Tuesday.

Turkish Cypriot news website Kibris Postasi reported that a new “mounted ceremony corps” will be established within the ‘TRNC Security Forces Command’.

The report said the corps will be deployed at the new palace for welcoming ceremonies of foreign dignitaries. It said the corps will be made up of between 10 and 20 people.

However, Tatar’s office denied the claims later on Tuesday, saying, “the allegations are completely false”.

The idea was ridiculed in the north’s ‘parliament’ by opposition party CTP ‘MP’ Asim Akansoy.

“I don’t know, maybe we could have a horse project for every minister! We will bring the horses from Karpasia!” he said.

He added that Tatar is due to appear before the north’s ‘parliament’ next Monday, and he will be able to be “asked about these issues”.

A mounted ceremony corps already exists at Turkey’s Presidential palace in Ankara, which was opened in 2014.

Last year, Turkish opposition party CHP leader Ozgur Ozel said in the country’s parliament that the Turkish government had purchased a “large number” of horses from the Netherlands to be used for the Turkish mounted ceremony corps.

He added that the horses had cost €70,000 each, and that there are a total of 131 horses in Turkey’s mounted ceremony corps.

“It is now known what kind of need these horses were bought for in such a period when Turkey is in a huge economic crisis,” he said.