Tufan Erhürman, who was elected as president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) last October, may disappoint those hoping the TRNC will change its course of relations with Ankara. Speaking to a group of Turkish journalists invited to the island on Wednesday, Erhürman said they had a special relationship with Türkiye, which cannot be compared to relations between any other two states.
“I believe our relations should be based on dialogue rather than monologues,” Erhürman was quoted by BBC Turkish, in response to a question about remarks of Turkish government ally Devlet Bahçeli. Bahçeli was visibly angry with Erhürman’s victory due to the former’s past remarks eyeing talks for a bi-communal federation with the Greek Cypriot side. The Greek Cypriot administration, which is the only internationally recognized entity on the island, advocates the idea of federation for resolving the decades-old “Cyprus question” in the divided island. Türkiye and past Turkish Cypriot governments called for a solution to the issue based on recognition of a sovereign Turkish Cypriot state.
Erhürman, who met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Ankara on Nov. 13, said they were always in touch with Ankara and had no problems with Türkiye, a guarantor state for the solution to the Cyprus question.
The TRNC leader, who is scheduled to meet Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christoulides for the second time on Thursday since his election, said they were open to the resumption of the five-plus-one talks, but that the talks should resume once the circumstances are tangible. His predecessor Ersin Tatar last attended the talks, in which guarantor states Türkiye, Greece, Britain and U.N. officials also participated in March. Erhürman highlighted that the Cyprus question is not solely confined to the island, and it was a matter of interest for the entire region. He noted that they presented a 10-item plan for confidence-building to the Greek Cypriot side at Thursday’s meeting.
Another pressing issue for the TRNC is the Greek Cypriots’ armament efforts. Erhürman told journalists the TRNC coordinates with Türkiye in monitoring those efforts. Earlier media reports indicated an arms race on the Greek Cypriot side, which increased defense imports, including from Türkiye’s arch foe, Israel.
Erhürman said that the Greek Cypriot administration pursues a one-sided approach for what it calls the defense of the island and ignores “the other half of the island” while making these decisions. He pointed out that Greek Cypriots were also engaged in deals on their own for hydrocarbon exploration in the Mediterranean, defined maritime jurisdiction areas on their own and ignored the will of Turkish Cypriots in all those issues.
