Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) continued their joint exercises in northern Cyprus on Wednesday as part of the Martyr Ensign Caner Gönyeli-2023 Search and Rescue Invitation Exercise.

The naval component of the exercise, whose primary objective is to safeguard the rights and interests of both Türkiye and the TRNC in the Eastern Mediterranean, saw the active participation of both civilian and military elements.

The exercise is named in honor of Lt. Caner Gönyeli, who tragically lost his life on the ship TCG Kocatepe during the Cyprus Peace Operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on July 21, 1974.

Commencing on Tuesday, the two-day drill began with the land phase conducted in Kyrenia, also known as Girne in Turkish, a town situated on the northern coast of Cyprus.

The exercise aims to contribute to the formal recognition and consolidation of the TRNC’s sovereignty while also raising public awareness regarding the significance of search and rescue operations and region boundaries.

The naval phase of the exercise has hosted 13 military representatives from six countries, including Azerbaijan, Djibouti, Kosovo, Qatar, Libya and Pakistan, who are attending as observers. The sea phase of the exercise will conclude with a search and rescue operation carried out within the framework of a standard scenario, taking place outside the territorial waters of the TRNC in the Turkish Search and Rescue Region, off the coast of Gazimağosa (Famagusta).

The island case

The island of Cyprus has been embroiled in a decadeslong struggle between its two communities, the Turkish and Greek Cypriots. Beginning in the 1960s, ethnic attacks compelled Turkish Cypriots to retreat to enclaves for their well-being. In 1974, a coup with aspirations of Greece’s annexation triggered a military intervention by Türkiye, intensifying the conflict.

The protracted dispute has persisted for years, prompting numerous international endeavors to resolve. For years, the United Nations has striven to achieve a complete settlement on the Cyprus problem, offering a reconciliation strategy for a federation and financing peace negotiations that ultimately failed.

While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support the U.N.’s proposal for a federal Greek Cypriot administration, the TRNC and its guarantor, Türkiye, have consistently called for a two-state solution, emphasizing that the Turkish Cypriots’ sovereign equality and equal international status are non-negotiable.

As a guarantor power, Türkiye conflicts with its Aegean neighbor Greece over the Cyprus problem and gas and oil exploration rights in their shared waters.