Erdogan marks foundation anniversary of Turkish Cyprus

By Muhammed Ali Toruntay

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish president on Thursday celebrated the 35th foundation anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

"I congratulate on the 35th anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus with my deepest wishes," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a Twitter post.

He also thanked those who had sacrificed their lives in liberation fight of the Turkish Cypriots. "Turkey will always stand by brotherly people of the TRNC," he added.

The island has been divided since 1974 when a Greek Cypriot coup was followed by violence against the island's Turks and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power.

The TRNC was established on 15 Nov. 1983 to prevent the eastern Mediterranean island’s annexation by Greece and to protect its Turkish population.

Negotiations over Cyprus resumed after a 2004 UN-backed Annan Plan to reunify the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities.

The status of the island remains unresolved in spite of a series of discussions that resumed in May 2015.

There has been an on-and-off peace process over recent years, the latest failed initiative having taken place in Crans-Montana, Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the U.K., collapsing last year.