Turkey will continue its constructive attitude in Cyprus to find a permanent solution via negotiations, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said yesterday.

Speaking at a press conference with Northern Cyprus President Mustafa Akıncı, Çavuşoğlu said that the reason why the negotiations in Crans-Montana failed is the fact that Greek Cypriots continue to see Turkish Cypriots as minorities.

"[The Greek Cypriot side] does not want to see Turkish Cypriots as equal partners and does not want to share anything with them," Çavuşoğlu said while adding that from the beginning of the process, Turkey always sided with the just, a permanent solution and negotiations on the matter.

"As a result, apart from lacking a solution, Turkish Cypriots have not been treated justly and today, unfortunately, restrictions, embargoes and isolations continue," he continued.

"The Greek side should give up on acting as if they are the only owners of the island," Çavuşoğlu further said, specifying that Turkey won't let Turkish Cypriots' rights to be overlooked. "Turkey still have has the belief that the Cyprus issue should be solved through negotiations that are based on dialogue and diplomacy."

The island of Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when a Greek Cypriot coup took place after decades of violence against the island's Turkish community and Ankara's intervention as a guarantor power. It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including the latest initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the U.K. that collapsed in 2017.

Turkey blames Greek Cypriot intransigence for the talks' failure, also faulting the European Union for admitting the Greek Cypriot administration into the union in 2004 although Greek Cypriot voters had recently rejected a peace deal.