Türkiye is a “motherland” for Turkish Cypriots and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Ünal Üstel highlighted this as he spoke to journalists from Türkiye over the weekend.
”We overcame all challenges with the great support of the motherland and will continue do so,” he said.
Probably the biggest challenge for Turkish Cypriots are the lack of international recognition, something they try to solve through talks with the internationally recognized south controlled by Greek Cypriots. For Üstel, it is not something unresolvable immediately as he said Greek Cypriots never accepted Turkish Cypriot existence in the island. This hostility eventually led to massacres targeting Turkish Cypriots in late 1960s and only after the Turkish army launched the Peace Operation in 1974 that Turkish Cypriots “felt peace,” Üstel said. Since then, the Republic of Türkiye has endorsed the TRNC in their social and economic struggles although Turkish Cypriots were excluded from Europe and the broader international community.
Üstel likened the situation in Gaza to the island’s past.
”If the Republic of Türkiye were not our motherland, we would have faced the same pressures, oppression and brutal massacres more. The reason the Greek Cypriots have not gone that far is the strong support we receive from Türkiye. Otherwise, today they might have wiped out the Turkish Cypriots,” he said.
He said they believe the future of the Turkish Cypriots depends on opening the state to the world.
“(President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) has called on the international community to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus at the last three United Nations General Assembly sessions,” Üstel said. “In line with that call, we are making a major effort to promote our country.”
The TRNC’s future as a sovereign country is also linked to talks with Greek Cypriots. The talks failed to achieve tangible results so far as the Greek Cypriot side pushed for a bi-communal federation in the island rather than recognition of Turkish Cypriot side as a separate, sovereign entity. The TRNC’s incumbent president, Tufan Erhürman, also once floated the idea of discussing federation with the Greek Cypriots. Yet, Üstel said that Erhürman has not insisted on the idea further.
He recalled that Erhürman met twice with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides after taking office last year.
“After he became president, he once again adopted the federation decision at the party congress,” Üstel said.
“However, so far we have not heard the word ‘federation’ from the president himself. At the same time, we have not heard him refer to two states either. Therefore, we are waiting. Hopefully, he will come to see the realities,” he said.
