President Erdogan receives Turkish Cypriot premier

By Cigdem Alyanak and Elif Kucuk

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish president on Monday met with prime minister of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) at Vahdettin Pavilion in Istanbul.

The meeting between Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ersin Tatar lasted one-and-a-half hour.

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and TRNC’s Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay also attended the meeting.

In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus’ annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the TRNC was founded.

The decades since have seen several attempts to resolve the dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one, held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland.

Turkey’s first seismic vessel, the Barbaros Hayrettin Pasa, bought from Norway in 2013, has been doing exploration in the Mediterranean since April 2017.