The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said on Thursday that the United Nations Peacekeepers on the island must seek the assent of the sides in the area they operate in.
Special Representative of President Ersin Tatar, Ergün Olgun told Nicosia (Lefkoşa) based BRT news that “This is not a demand, but a right. We want this right to be implemented.”
He reiterated that the U.N. peacekeepers were operating so far under the approval of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus” and that the Turkish side met this with goodwill and tolerance, allowing its continued operations.
“If the U.N. wants to contribute to the establishment of peace and stability in Cyprus, it has to keep an equal distance to the parties, as in its goodwill mission,” Olgun pointed out.
Established in 1964, UNFICYP is one of the longest-running U.N. peacekeeping missions in existence.
"Our hospitality has its limits: either they sign a military agreement with the TRNC or they leave," the Turkish daily Hürriyet on Wednesday quoted Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu as saying.
"We decided to give them another month. It is not the Greek Cypriot government that will approve your mission in the north. It is us," Ertuğruloğlu added.
UNFICYP's presence is dictated by a mandate issued by the U.N. Security Council, which is renewed every six months at the end of January and July.
Ertuğruloğlu said U.N. peacekeepers have two camps in the north.
It currently has just over 1,000 personnel, including nearly 750 peacekeepers.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between the Turkish and Greek 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 Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983. The TRNC is only officially recognized by Türkiye.
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 Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.'s Annan Plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Today, the Turkish side supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.
