Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will continue to advance cooperation and finalize a new economic agreement by the end of March, Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said on Thursday.
Yılmaz's remarks came after meeting TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel in Ankara. The vice president described the talks as productive and said work is underway on a new economic and financial cooperation framework.
"Our aim is clear. We want to carry the TRNC toward a more prosperous and stronger future," Yılmaz said.
He stressed that ties between Türkiye and the TRNC are "not ordinary relations between two countries," adding that Türkiye, as a guarantor state, "will continue to stand by the TRNC."
Yılmaz said the current cooperation protocol has been implemented effectively and that both sides aim to complete negotiations on a new agreement by late March.
The Mediterranean island of Cyprus was divided in 1974 after a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation. This led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
The TRNC was founded in 1983. The country is fully recognized only by Türkiye, which does not recognize the Greek Cypriot administration in the south.
The island has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, under the auspices of the guarantor countries.
The Greek Cypriot administration joined the European Union in 2004, the same year that the Greek side rejected a United Nations plan to resolve the dispute in a referendum.
The Turkish side strictly adheres to a two-state solution based on sovereign equality. The Greek Cypriots are seeking a federal solution.
Yılmaz said any solution must be based on "the realities of the island," including "two states and two peoples" and sovereign equality.
"Türkiye and the TRNC will continue on their path in a spirit of cooperation," he said. "No matter what traps are set in our region, the realities of the region will render them ineffective."
Speaking after the meeting, the TRNC's Üstel also addressed recent regional developments, referring to a defense protocol signed between Greece, Israel and the Greek Cypriot administration.
Üstel said the three had entered what he described as an arms race following the signing of the defense agreement and accused them of showcasing new defense acquisitions in the media.
He said the Turkish Cypriots are "not alone," stressing that Türkiye stands by the TRNC as its motherland.
"Whatever they do, we have no doubt that when the time comes, we will respond in the same manner and with the same determination," Üstel said.
Üstel also reiterated that there are two peoples and two states on the island and said any solution must reflect this reality.