The Cyprus crisis has been ongoing since 1963, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar pointed out Wednesday as he hit back at claims from the Greek Cypriot administration that the crisis on the divided island began in 1974 when Türkiye launched a military offensive in response to a Greek-sponsored coup.
“Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides’ claim is a figment of the imagination because the Cyprus issue has been ongoing since 1963. (Christodoulides) is not mentioning the suffering and forced migrations the Turkish Cypriots went through before 1974,” Tatar told his country’s state broadcaster BRT.
Tensions have been rising recently between the internationally recognized Greek Cyprus in the south and the TRNC in the north, supported and only recognized by Ankara.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Türkiye, as a guarantor power, prompted by a coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island, launched a military intervention dubbed the Cyprus Peace Operation to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
The division has been a source of tensions since then, including over who holds sway on the island’s offshore exclusive economic zone, more than 40% of which was claimed by Türkiye following recent natural gas discoveries. Türkiye doesn’t recognize the Greek Cypriot administration as a state.
Christodoulides addressed the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, claiming Türkiye “invaded” Cyprus in 1974 and “continues to occupy European territory 49 years on.”
The Greek Cypriot leader then urged the world body to appoint a special envoy to restart negotiations on the island, arguing it was “high time for the U.N. to become a driving force of dialogue by appointing as a first step an envoy on the Cyprus problem to explore and prepare the ground for the resumption of negotiations.”
“The United Nations and secretary-general have the responsibility prescribed in the U.N. Charter to act as a catalyst for peace in Cyprus,” he said.
He reiterated his call on the European Union to facilitate the peace talks, as well, something the Turkish side has rejected because of the EU’s “pro-Greek attitude” regarding the crisis and how it has “blocked an acceptable agreement and perpetuated the status quo.”
The Greek Cypriot administration joined the EU in 2004, but only the Greek Cypriot side enjoys its full benefits. The TRNC has been resolute that peace talks could only begin once the Greek side recognizes the sovereign equality of Turkish Cyprus.
According to Tatar, Christodoulides was trying to form public opinion.
“What matters for us is to sustain our presence in Cyprus based on equality,” Tatar said.
He further slammed Christodoulides’ remarks as “a political tool at odds with sincerity” as well as “proof the mentality that will destroy the legitimate rights and interests of Turkish Cypriot people continues.”
“If relations will be conducted within a framework of respect, the reality of the TRNC must be accepted. If there will be a sustainable solution in Cyprus, it will be definitely through the cooperation of two states,” Tatar stressed.
He also lamented the “continued and unfair isolation and embargos” enforced on TRNC and said: “Christodoulides is saying these to obstruct TRNC’s economic development.”
“Yearslong talks on a federal solution have been exhausted, and the whole world knows it,” he added.
“That’s what President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed in his historic address of the UNGA, as well,” Tatar noted, referring to the Turkish leader’s speech where he called on the international community to recognize the independence of the TRNC, establish diplomatic, political and economic ties, and urged the U.N. peacekeeping force on the island to act impartially.
Christodoulides also offered a personal message to Erdoğan following that speech, saying, “Dear Mr. Erdoğan: illegality stemming from invasion, aggression and the use of force cannot be recognized.”
“Christodoulides’ suggestion of a solution is still based on a two-region, two-people federation, but Erdoğan has given him his response. The whole world has now learned a federal deal will never happen,” Tatar said.
Efforts to reunify the island have been at a standstill since the last round of U.N.-backed talks collapsed in 2017.
EU officials have revived their long-stalled negotiations on closer ties with Türkiye contingent on finally settling the Cyprus dispute.
Rare violence broke out in August when the U.N. accused Turkish Cypriot forces of injuring four peacekeepers as they tried to block road construction work in a village on the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone.
Last week, Turkish Cypriot Security Forces Command accused the U.N. peacekeepers of attempting to attack its soldiers doing cleanup on a road in TRNC territory.
