By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan
LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (AA) - Turkish Cyprus on Thursday condemned the reaction of Greek and the Greek Cypriot officials over a meeting between the Turkish side of the island and a Dutch lawmaker.
Their pushback after the Aug. 12 visit by Liane den Haan was a "new manifestation of their outdated mentality," the Presidency of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said in a statement.
"We condemn these statements made by disregarding the rules of diplomatic courtesy and the mentality behind them," it said.
"Today I had an informal meeting with the Minister of Tourism of North Cyprus," Den Haan said on Twitter last Thursday after her visit to the Turkish Cypriot capital of Lefkosa, where she met Fikri Ataoglu.
"An interesting meeting, we talked about the tourism on North Cyprus and how hard it is during the Covid pandemic. #KKTC #kibris," den Haan added, sharing a photo of the two officials from Ataoglu's office, with the flags of Turkey and the TRNC visible in the background.
Den Haan received severe criticism, including from Greek and Greek Cypriot officials, over the meeting.
The TRNC Presidency also noted that Turkish Cypriots had been violently expelled from the republic on the island, of which they were equal founders, in 1963. The Greek Cypriot side acted as the sole owner of Cyprus since then, depriving Turkish Cypriots of their legitimate rights, and forcing them to live under isolation and restriction, the statement read.
"Those who cannot tolerate even a meeting by the Turkish Cypriot people with any foreign official, in fact, give the best answer by explaining why the Cyprus issue, which has been ongoing for more than 50 years, has not been resolved," it added.
In a separate statement, Ataoglu also condemned the reaction of some officials from Greek Cyprus and Greece over his meeting.
"It is precisely because of this mentality that it has not been possible to reach a solution on the Cyprus issue for years," Ataoglu said.
- Decades-long dispute
Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek 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 led to Turkey'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 Turkey, Greece, and the UK.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the UN's Annan plan to end the longstanding dispute.