The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) does not need the advice of racist Greek Cypriots, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said Sunday, in response to the latter’s aim to take complete control over the divided island.
Noting that the Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulidis openly expressed that their goal is to completely seize control over the island during an event to discuss the closed city of Varosha (Maraş), Ertuğruloğlu said the Greek Cypriots refuse to acknowledge the fact that a federal model is not suitable for the island.
“This policy is a product of an ideology, which shows that the only way Turkish Cypriots can live on the island is as a minority,” he said, adding that even though Kasoulidis seems like a moderate politician, he has shown that he also supports the annihilation of the TRNC.
He continued by saying that the TRNC emphasizes a two-state solution, which protects the interests of two peoples by accepting two sovereign states.
“Like all states, the TRNC also makes necessary decisions on issues related to its territory and people and implements them,” Ertuğruloğlu said, adding that the decisions on Varosha have been made by relevant authorities.
The top TRNC diplomat continued by calling on Greek Cypriot authorities to understand that the TRNC has the sole prerogative to make decisions over its territory.
Varosha was a famous resort area on the island that boasted a capacity of 10,000 beds across more than 100 hotels. Turkish military forces intervened on the island following a Greece-backed coup, which stopped the yearslong persecution and violence against Turkish Cypriots by ultranationalist Greek Cypriots.
The city of Varosha is protected by a 1984 United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution, stating that the empty town can only be resettled in by its original inhabitants. If the Greek Cypriots had accepted the 2004 U.N. Cyprus reunification plan, known as the Annan Plan, Varosha would now be back under Greek Cypriot control and its residents back in their homes. Despite this, the majority of Greek Cypriots voted against the plan, while Turkish Cypriots voted for it.
Since partially opening on Oct. 8, 2020, after remaining a "ghost town" for decades in the wake of Turkey's 1974 peace operation on the island in response to a coup aimed at Cyprus's annexation by Greece, Varosha has attracted both people living in the TRNC as well as foreign tourists, with the environment and landscape around the town also boosting its appeal. Located in Northern Cyprus, entry into the town was forbidden except for Turkish army personnel stationed in the TRNC.
Cyprus has been mired for decades in a dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N 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 U.K.
