Turkish Cypriot foreign minister hails Turkish president’s visit as ‘meaningful response’ to Greeks

By Mehmet Kemal Ferik

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (AA) – The foreign minister of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) lauded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's post-reelection visit to his country this week as “a significant and symbolic response” to the Greek Cypriots on the island.

"President Erdogan's choice to visit the TRNC after the (May 28) elections holds great significance for the Greeks,” said Tahsin Ertugruloglu in Lefkosa, capital of the TRNC, on Wednesday.

Erdogan's “insistence on the recognition of the TRNC as a precondition for resuming negotiations is a strong and resolute response to the Greeks. These actions demonstrate the validity of our joy on President Erdogan's election victory," Ertugruloglu told Anadolu.

Erdogan visited TRNC on Monday where he met Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar.

Ertugruloglu firmly stated that there is no possibility of returning to federation-based negotiations, and he urged the Greek Cypriots to acknowledge this reality as soon as possible to achieve lasting peace.

Addressing the international community's recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration as the "Republic of Cyprus," Ertugruloglu said the TRNC would not partake in such misrecognition.

He added: "Regardless of global pressure, we categorically refuse to acknowledge the Greek Cypriot administration as the 'Republic of Cyprus.' Engaging in a federation process with Greek Cypriots is out of the question. Henceforth, they must either come to terms with these realities or persist with their path of falsehoods and deceit. We will continue on our own path alongside our motherland, Türkiye."

Ertugruloglu also criticized UN Security Council resolutions, which he claimed formed the core of the Cyprus issue. He argued that these resolutions merely offer advisory recommendations and hold no binding power.

“Security Council resolutions have created the Cyprus problem. The permanent members of the Security Council, the US, the UK, France, Russia, and China, use the Cyprus issue for their own interests. Because their interests lie in this way, they impose it on the states they influence. That's why President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says, 'The world is bigger than the five.' Yes, the world is bigger than the five. When the world realizes this, our happiness will become indescribable," he said.

- Decades-long issue

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN 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 of the island 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 UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

​​​​​​​*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul