Erdogan insists on recognizing the seceded Turkish state as a solution for divided Cyprus
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan today called on the international community to recognize the de facto division of Cyprus, including the militarily seceded Turkish part as an independent state.
Turkey occupied the north of Cyprus in 1974 in response to a failed coup by Greek Cypriot nationalists who wanted to unite the island with Greece.
The Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, effectively governs the south, while in the north the self-proclaimed “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” has been established, which is recognized only by Ankara and is under international embargo.
“We fully support a vision based on a two-state solution,” Erdogan said on the occasion of the 51st anniversary of the Turkish invasion, speaking in the northern part of Nicosia under Turkish control.
“It is time for the international community to accept the reality on the ground,” Erdogan said, calling for an end to the isolation of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.”
“Diplomatic, political, and economic relations should be established with this (seceded) republic, and the injustice that Turkish Cypriots have suffered for decades must finally come to an end,” he added.
Three days ago, the leaders of Cyprus and the island's Turks met in New York in what the UN described as “constructive.”
While only Ankara supports the two-state solution, a meeting between the two sides in Geneva in March was described as achieving “significant progress” towards restarting reunification talks on Cyprus, which have been frozen since 2017.
