The Russian Embassy serving the Greek Cypriot side of the island is set to extend consulate services to Russian citizens in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the capital Lefkoşa (Nicosia), Russia's state news agency Tass reported Wednesday.
“We will start providing consulate services in the north of Lefkoşa very soon. Proceedings will be conducted regularly,” Tass quoted an official from the Russian Embassy in the south as saying.
The move is aimed to fulfill Moscow’s responsibilities to its citizens living in the TRNC, the official noted, pointing to other countries like the U.S., U.K., Germany, Italy and France that have provided consulate services in the TRNC for years.
Some 50,000-strong Russians live in the island’s north, historically a favorite tourism spot.
While consulates are active in the north, the TRNC as a country is only recognized by guarantor Türkiye.
After ethnic attacks in the early 1960s and a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation in 1974, Türkiye launched a military intervention, dubbed the Cyprus Peace Operation, to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence, eventually leading to the foundation of the TRNC in 1983.
An international embargo against the TRNC is currently in place in several areas that allow access to global communications, postal services and transport only through Türkiye.
There have been several diplomatic efforts for a peaceful solution throughout the years, including a U.N.-brokered settlement, but the sides, featuring other guarantor nations Greece and U.K., have struggled to reach an agreement. U.N.-backed reunification talks have been in limbo since the last round collapsed at Crans-Montana, Switzerland in July 2017.
The TRNC is committed to demanding a two-state solution to ensure international recognition, and equal sovereignty and status. At the same time, the Greek side is insistent on a federal solution based on the hegemony of the Greeks.
