Turkish Cypriot leadership demands Greek Cypriot leader ‘stop manipulative behavior’

By Muhammet Ikbal Arslan

LEFKOSE, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (AA) – The Turkish Cypriot presidency demanded Thursday that the Greek Cypriot leader “stop manipulative behavior.”

The comments from the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) came in a statement that emphasized that an informal lunch with UN Secretary General will take place on Sept. 27 with President Ersin Tatar and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades.

“Before the lunch that UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will give to President Ersin Tatar and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades on next Monday, it is seen that the Greek Cypriot leader is trying to reflect this informally organized lunch as an official meeting. We would like to emphasize that this effort is completely futile based on distortion,” said the statement.

It emphasized that formal talks will not start until TRNC’s sovereign equality and equal international status is accepted.

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.

* Writing by Busra Nur Cakmak