The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ersin Tatar, on Tuesday welcomed President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s call at his U.N. speech to recognize the TRNC.
In a written statement, Tatar thanked Erdoğan for his words.
“I call on the international community to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and to establish diplomatic, political and economic relations. The international community must end the unfair isolation that Turkish Cypriots have endured for half a century,” Erdoğan said at his speech at the 80th U.N. General Assembly.
Underlining that Türkiye is always the guarantee of the Turkish Cypriots’ secure future, Tatar added: “We cannot thank Mr. Erdoğan enough for his continuous support.”
Tatar said that Erdoğan did not forget the Turkish Cypriots during the general assembly, which had the main focus on the recognition of Palestine and the continuing attacks on Palestinians.
The island 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.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.
As a result, 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, but negotiations have been stalled since 2017.
