A new peace process for resolving the Cyprus crisis can “only continue at a level accepted by both parties” on the divided island, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar said Saturday.
Turkish Cypriote government "will not compromise on the principle of sovereignty,” Tatar told reporters at the 78th United Nations General Assembly in New York after meeting U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Speaking after his meeting with Guterres, Tatar said that he conveyed to the Secretary-General the demands of "the parties on the island to take into account the equal two-state structure and sovereignty wishes of the TRNC to work together on issues such as renewable energy, equal access to the EU, irregular migration, mine clearance."
He noted that direct flights to Ercan Airport are still not possible because of the obstruction by the Greek side.
Tatar, who emphasized the TRNC aims to "live in peace and harmony," said: "The Turkish people also have the right to live on the island as much as the Greeks. For 60 years, the Turkish Cypriot people have faced a great injustice."
He expressed gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who supports the independence of the Turkish Cypriots, in his speech to the General Assembly.
"With the efforts of the Republic of Türkiye, we are determined to continue our just struggle to the end," said Tartar.
Tatar pointed out that the Greeks were trying to assimilate the Turkish nation and turn Cyprus into a Greek island. He said the TRNC overcame the isolation created by the Greek side in negotiations with Türkiye and made at the U.N. that their voices were heard.
Referring to his meeting with Guterres in Geneva, Tatar said: "We reiterated to the Secretary-General that we will not enter a negotiation process without our conditions of sovereignty and equality being accepted by both sides. He also showed understanding for these and said that he closely followed the events, agreed with us that an agreement acceptable to both sides could be reached through the free will of both parties and assured us he would never exert pressure."
Tatar pointed to the history of the Turkish Cypriots on the island, emphasizing that they "owned the island from 1571 until the Lausanne Treaty, were forcibly expelled, and established their own state from scratch through force."
"These achievements were undoubtedly made with the support of the Republic of Türkiye. Now, it is important to crown this with a two-state solution," he said.
Noting the TRNC’s status as an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), Tatar argued the Turkish Cypriots constitute "a part of the Great Turkish Nation.”
"In a way, we represent the entire Turkish world in the Eastern Mediterranean," he said.
The Cyprus issue returned to the fore last month after an altercation between U.N. peacekeepers and Turkish Cypriot crews working on a road that would connect Pile, a village inside the U.N.-controlled buffer zone, to Yiğitler (Asos) village in the island’s north.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Türkiye, 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, over 40% of which was claimed by Türkiye following recent natural gas discoveries. Türkiye doesn’t recognize the Greek Cypriot administration as a state.
Efforts to reunify the island have been at a standstill since the last round of U.N.-backed talks collapsed in 2017.
Greek Cypriots’ recently elected leader, Nikos Christodoulides, has been pushing to restart talks with Tatar, including a proposal to get the European Union more invested in the U.N.-facilitated negotiations and appointing a senior official to help guide the process.
Turkish Cyprus strongly opposes the idea 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 after thwarting a U.N. plan for a solution, but only the Greek Cypriot south enjoys its full benefits.
