The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Tuesday scolded the United Nations for extending the peacekeeping mission on the island for a year without the country's approval.

"The U.N. Security Council has repeated its mistake by extending the peacekeeping force's mission without obtaining our approval. We reject this approach, which ignores the will and existence of the Turkish Cypriot side," the country's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The statement came after the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to keep peacekeeping troops in the island of Cyprus for another year during a visit by the new personal envoy.

"The peacekeeping force has failed to fulfill its fundamental tasks during this period, such as treating both sides in Cyprus equally and finding fair solutions to disputes. In addition, it has become a protector of the status quo deemed unsustainable by all relevant parties," the Turkish Cypriot ministry added.

It stressed that the peacekeeping force's continued activities within the TRNC's borders were due to the good faith cooperation of TRNC authorities, reaffirming the sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot people and their state.

"It is a prerequisite for the peacekeeping force to conduct its activities in our country on a legitimate basis," the ministry argued.

It called on U.N. Security Council members to reconsider their "obsolete" decisions and adopt a new approach based on the existence of two separate peoples and two separate states within their own borders on the island.

"The realistic solution for Cyprus lies in developing good neighborly relations based on the equal sovereignty and international status of the existing two states," it said.

Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar also denounced the move, saying, "We cannot engage in formal negotiations without the confirmation of our sovereign equality and international status."

Following a meeting with Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, the personal representative of the U.N. secretary-general for the island of Cyprus, Tatar said they accepted the negotiation process but only had conditions for talks.

Emphasis on recognition

Tatar informed Cuellar of the realities on the island during the approximately two-hour meeting.

He highlighted that the TRNC and Türkiye are not against reaching an agreement with the Greek Cypriot administration but seek a cooperation agreement between two sovereign states for the peace and stability of the region and the future of both communities.

Addressing the unfair embargo and restrictions faced by the TRNC, Tatar underscored that the Cyprus issue has been ongoing for 60 years. For a fair agreement in Cyprus, the existing sovereignty of the Turkish people must be recognized.

Cuellar expressed her commitment to facilitating common ground between the leaders.

She visited the U.N. peacekeeping force's headquarters on the Green Line (Buffer Zone) upon her arrival and came together with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides before meeting with President Tatar in Turkish Cyprus.

The island was divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south in 1974 following a peace operation by guarantor power Türkiye that was triggered by the persecution of Turkish Cypriots and a coup aimed at union with Greece.

Since then, the violence has stopped, but tensions continue, including over who holds sway on the island's exclusive offshore economic zone, over 40% of which was claimed by Türkiye following recent natural gas discoveries.

Türkiye doesn't recognize the Greek Cypriot administration as a state and still keeps some 35,000 troops in the TRNC.

Numerous rounds of U.N.-mediated talks have failed, with the last push for a peace deal in July 2017 ending in acrimony.

That meeting also led to a shift by Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots toward seeking a two-state deal, which they are still demanding, instead of pursuing their earlier aim of reunifying the country.

The plan for a federation of Greek and Turkish-speaking zones was endorsed by the U.N. Security Council – and again in the resolution adopted Tuesday.

Despite rejecting a deal on a federation previously, the majority of Greek Cypriots also reject anything that would formalize a partition, as well as demands for a Turkish Cypriot veto on all federal-level government decisions, permanent Turkish troop presence and Turkish military intervention rights.

Cuellar said earlier Tuesday, on her first visit, that she believes she can work with both Greek and Turkish Cypriots to get them back to the negotiating table after years of complete stalemate.

Cuellar is expected to return to the island in March after meeting with civil society organizations, opinion leaders and some political representatives in Ankara, Athens and London.

Settlement prospects

Council members stressed in the resolution "that the status quo is unsustainable, that the situation on the ground is not static and that the lack of an agreement furthers political tensions and deepens the estrangement of both communities, risking irreversible changes on the ground and reducing the prospects of a settlement."

It calls on the leaders of the two Cypriot communities to "improve the public atmosphere for negotiation to secure a settlement."

Both sides should also "more explicitly" encourage contact and cooperation between the communities, support "grassroots people-to-people initiatives," and refrain from actions and rhetoric that could make a settlement more difficult to achieve, the council said.

The resolution condemns the continued violations of the military status quo along the cease-fire lines, the reported encroachment by both sides into the buffer zone and the reported increase in the number and severity of military violations and unauthorized construction. It strongly urges both sides and all involved to respect the authority of the U.N. mission known as UNFICYP, the delineation of the buffer zone, and to stop unilateral violations.

The resolution also expresses concern over unauthorized or criminal activities in the buffer zone and their risks to peacekeeper safety and security.

The council extended the 1,000-strong UNFYCIP mission until Jan. 31, 2025.

Road controversy

In reference to the Security Council's reference to incidents in the buffer zone, the TRNC, in its statement, also highlighted the situation in Pile (Pyla), specifically the issue of the construction of the Yiğitler-Pile road, which generated controversy last summer.

In August 2023, the TRNC launched the construction to expand the Pile road to Yiğitler (Arsos) village to ease the lives of Turkish Cypriots living in Pile inside the buffer zone.

However, the U.N. troops tried to stop the work, pushing away Turkish Cypriot crews in a violent confrontation. Despite tensions, the TRNC continued what it called its right to expansion.

The U.N.'s criticism of the TRNC had drawn the country's ire, which argued the world body had "lost its impartiality in favor of the Greek Cypriots."

The sides reached an agreement in the following weeks, but it is yet to be implemented, according to the TRNC.

The ministry blamed last summer's incidents "entirely on the peacekeeping force, which has been attempting to obstruct the construction of the Yiğitler-Pile road for purely humanitarian purposes."

The Turkish Cypriot side demands the implementation of the agreement reached with the peacekeeping force regarding the matter and the completion of the road's construction as "soon as possible," it said.

It also accused the Greek Cypriot administration of "claiming to be the alleged sole owner of the island" and "attempting to extend its hegemonic attitude to the buffer zone."

"The increasing tension and violations in the buffer zone are a result of this distorted understanding," the ministry said.