Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar reiterated his commitment to a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus based on equal international status and sovereign equality in a meeting with the United Nations mission chief to Cyprus.
Tatar received Colin Stewart, the U.N. Secretary-General's special representative in Cyprus and head of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), the TRNC Presidency said in a statement on Tuesday.
Tatar said the TRNC would continue its efforts to find a realistic, fair and sustainable solution to the crisis.
Speaking to Turkish News Agency-Cyprus (TAK) following the meeting, Stewart said he is always pleased to meet with President Tatar, describing today's meeting as "excellent."
Stewart said they have been making a great effort to create conditions that could pave the way for a final solution to the crisis on the island.
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support a federation on Cyprus, Turkey and the TRNC insist on a two-state solution reflecting the realities of the island.
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong struggle between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Five decades of Cyprus talks have led to nowhere.
The island has been divided since 1964 when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at annexation by Greece led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power. The TRNC was founded in 1983.
The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the European Union in 2004, even though in a referendum the same year most Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. settlement plan that envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.
