Turkey’s ruling AK Party is to open a representative office in Nicosia’s old town, with the party’s logo having been affixed to the front of a sandstone building.

The building is located immediately north of the Selimiye mosque, next to the Novo Pangea cafe, and opposite the Cyprus Turkish municipalities’ union’s headquarters and the Yunus Emre institute. It will replace the current headquarters, which is located in the suburb of Neapolis.

It is owned by the Bullici family, which is charging the AK Party £1,800 (€2,082) per month for the building’s rent.

Asked by newspaper Yeniduzen for comment on the renting of the building to the AK Party, the Bullici family said that “whether Christian or Jewish, he who pays the piper calls the tune, dooby dooby doo”.

The AK Party’s Cyprus representative Emre Kaya, meanwhile, told the newspaper that “it is a recently restored building which preserves its historical character”, and that “the building’s location, historical identity, and physical conditions were influential in this choice”.

He also denied reports that Turkey’s embassy in Nicosia had played a role in acquiring the building’s use for the AK Party, saying, “our embassy had no connection or involvement with the matter”.

“We saw the building, found it suitable, and completed the rental process,” he said.

Then asked about the fact that the planning permission given to the building foresaw that it would be used as a guesthouse, he said, “I think the owner is the one who should answer this question”.