The Association of Turkish Cypriots Abroad sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday protesting the breakdown of negotiations for the governance of the island. The association protested the withdrawal of the Greek Cypriot administration from negotiations with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.The representatives of the association are looking for the creation of a two-state model for governance of the island.Turkish Cypriots said they did not accept the way the Greek Cypriot administration had suspended the negotiations, and how they have consistently raised the conditions for the return to negotiations.The letter comes after the Greek Cypriot administration suspended talks in October in retaliation to Turkey's warship mission to monitor oil-and-gas exploration activity off the Cyprus coast.Turkey and the government of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have strongly opposed any unilateral move by the Greek Cypriot administration to explore any hydrocarbon resources around the island, saying that its natural resources should be exploited in a fair manner under a united Cyprus.Negotiations between Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots resumed after a two-year pause in February 2013. The previous round of talks collapsed partly because of the impact of the Eurozone debt crisis on the government in Lefkosa.In 1974, an attempt was made by Greek Cypriots to forcibly join the island to Athens through "enosis," or union, in a coup attempt. This was resisted by an armed Turkish peace mission in accordance with the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. Consequently, Turkish Cypriots set up their own state in the north of the island in 1983, recognized by Turkey, while continuing attempts for reconciliation.The EU recognizes the Greek Cypriot administration on the island.