Ziya Öztürkler, speaker for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' (TRNC) Parliament, affirmed the island state’s bonds with Türkiye on Sunday.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA) on the 42nd anniversary of the foundation of the TRNC, Öztürkler said a strong Republic of Türkiye also meant a strong TRNC and expressed hope that their bond would be permanent.
The TRNC elected a new president, Tufan Erhürman, in last month’s election. Erhürman’s election has sparked rumors that the TRNC and Türkiye may have a fallout, as the new president, at one point, advocated resuming talks on the future of divided Cyprus with Greek Cypriots who insist on a bicommunal federation. Ankara champions the internationally unrecognized TRNC as a sovereign state. Erhürman, however, dispelled rumors of a fallout with Ankara, meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last Thursday in his first visit abroad.
"The Turkish Cypriot people are one of the two founding partners of the island and this status for my people is neither open to debate, negotiation, nor bargaining. The Turkish Cypriot people, under this status, have sovereign rights across all of the island of Cyprus," Erhürman said after his apparently warm meeting with Erdoğan in Ankara, referring also to energy and hydrocarbon resources.
"Nobody should expect us to walk on a path that has been tried numerous times in the past and led nowhere," he said, adding there was no point in holding talks if the Greek Cypriot side was not willing to explore a solution sincerely.
Advancing relations between Türkiye and the TRNC "will be one of my most important priorities," Erhürman also said.
For his part, Ziya Öztürkler said the TRNC has been an important legacy of their founding fathers, including late founding President Rauf Denktaş and Dr. Fazıl Küçük, a senior Turkish Cypriot leader before the foundation of the TRNC.
“We fondly remember mücahits (Turkish Cypriots fighting against Greek Cypriot aggression) and Turkish soldiers (who landed on the island to defend Turkish Cypriots in 1974),” Öztürkler added.
“We have a bond that will not be severed with our motherland, Türkiye. We are committed to this bond,” Öztürkler highlighted.
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