Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar said on Sunday: "President Erdoğan has always said, 'If there is to be a just, permanent and sustainable solution in Cyprus, this issue must be sovereign and equal.' We are determined to take this policy to the end."
Ersin Tatar attended the conference titled "The past, present, and future of Türkiye and the Turkish world toward 2023" held at the Erzincan Mufti Conference Hall as part of the International Symposium of the Turkic World.
Tatar spoke with the veterans and said in his speech that they always saw themselves as an integral part of the Turkish nation.
Emphasizing that Türkiye has always been against the annexation of Cyprus to Greece and that Türkiye did not remain only a spectator to this, Tatar emphasized that the island of Cyprus has always been important for the Turkish nation.
In addition, Tatar stated that they have always successfully continued the struggle in Cyprus with a spirit of resistance with the support of Türkiye.
“After the Cyprus Peace Operation, the foundations of the Turkish Republic of Cyprus were laid. Since the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983, the Turkish Cypriot people continue to announce and shout their independence, freedom, and sovereignty to the whole world with the support of Türkiye,” Tatar said.
Stressing that the work of Türkiye in the Eastern Mediterranean is of vital importance both for the protection of rights and laws and for the security of Cyprus, Tatar stated that an agreement can only be reached in Cyprus via the cooperation of two separate sovereign equal states living side by side.
"The Cyprus case is an issue that has cost our nation. Various agreements may have been made so that the Turkish Cypriot people and the Greek people can live in peace. President Erdoğan has always said, 'If there is to be a just, permanent and sustainable solution in Cyprus, this issue must be sovereign and equal-based.' We are determined to follow this policy to the end.”
Tatar thanked the Cypriot veterans for their sacrifice and said that they were always with them.
Also, ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairperson Binali Yıldırım said Türkiye will never abandon its brothers in the TRNC.
“There are those who have ignored the just cause of Cyprus for years. There are those who isolate Turkish Cypriots. Unfortunately, there are still those who ignore the rights of the Turkish Cypriots based on equal sovereignty. But we, as Türkiye, as a member of the Organization of Turkic States, do our best to promote Cyprus around the world, and we will continue to do so,” Yıldırım said.
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 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration became a member of the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N. Annan Plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Today, the Turkish side supports a solution based on the equal sovereignty of the two states on the island. On the other hand, the Greek side wants a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.
Türkiye, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriots.
