President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gave a speech to the Turkish Cypriot Parliament in Nicosia (Lefkoşa) late Monday, underlining that the Greek side has shown many times that it does not want a real solution to the island's ongoing problems.
"Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are continuing a positive agenda," he said.
"But the Greek side, which left the Crans-Montana talks, show that they do not want a solution."
Greece and the Greek Cypriot side, which left the table on the first day of the Geneva talks, aimed at reaching a comprehensive solution in Cyprus on Jan. 12, attempted to make the Turkish side leave the table during the new talks in Crans-Montana.
The talks, which began on June 28 and were monitored by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide, failed after 10 days of intense discussions.
"Greek side is pretending to defend a federation on the island," Erdoğan further added.
"Nevertheless, we are not going to spend another 50 years without a proper solution."
Erdoğan further underlined that Turkey backs the two-state solution put forth by the Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar.
"Turkey steadfastly supports the solution proposal put forth by Turkish Cypriot President Tatar, which foresees a two-state solution on the island," he said.
Erdoğan also shared that a new presidential complex and a new parliament building will be built in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
Every year the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) celebrates July 20 as its Peace and Freedom Day to mark the operation – a large-scale military intervention to protect Turkish Cypriots from the violence that struck the island in 1974.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
In the early 1960s, ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation of the island led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded in 1983.
The island has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.'s Annan plan to end the decadeslong dispute.
