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Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar expressed concerns about the armament of Greek Cypriots in the divided island, courtesy of Israel.
Tatar held a news conference at Turkish House (Türkevi) in New York on Saturday amid the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly.
The leader of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) met with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday as he pushed for a faster solution to the state of TRNC. He noted that they could not find any ground for negotiation this week in informal talks with Greek Cypriots.
The Greek Cypriot side claims to want peace and stability, but they are constantly arming themselves, Tatar added.
The TRNC had informed Guterres that southern Cyprus resorted to excessive armament under agreements it made with Israel, he noted.
The excessive armament increases the danger on the island and causes further tension and unease, he said.
The Turkish Cypriots have been under restrictions since 1963, said Tatar, noting that the TRNC continues to fight for two sovereign states with equal rights on the island.
Stressing that Turkish Cypriots have undergone a paradigm shift in negotiations in the last five years, he said the shift from seeking a federal solution to focusing on two separate states has strengthened the TRNC’s foundation.
When asked about the timetable set following talks with the Greek Cypriots this week under U.N. auspices, Tatar said there is no common ground because southern Cyprus still does not accept the TRNC’s demand for sovereign equality.
There will be no official negotiation process until the Greek Cypriot administration accepts it, he highlighted.
Now, with Türkiye’s full support and Ankara’s strengthening position in the world, the TRNC is in a stronger position on the island of Cyprus compared to the past, Tatar noted.
Despite the ongoing lack of recognition, the TRNC trades with many countries and attracts tourists and students from numerous countries, the president said.
The system is now so well-established that no one can easily disrupt the institutional structure, said Tatar, emphasizing that southern Cyprus has no authority over the TRNC.
Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
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 of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC 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 U.K.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a U.N. plan to end the longstanding dispute.
Hydrocarbon dispute
Greek Cypriots’ attempt to assert sole sovereignty in and around the island often draws sharp rebukes from TRNC and Türkiye, as it did on Saturday. Ankara said that it supported the TRNC’s protest against the Greek Cypriot administration’s unilateral decision to allow the Norwegian-flagged vessel “Ramform Hyperion” to conduct unauthorized activities on the continental shelf south of the island. The vessel is reportedly in the area to search for hydrocarbon resources, and authorities said its activities fall within an area where a Turkish company is originally licensed to search for resources.
“The Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus, which represents only the Greek Cypriot people, does not have the authority to unilaterally make decisions on behalf of the Turkish Cypriot people regarding the areas around the island,” said Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli in a social media post.
The Turkish Cypriot people co-own the island, Keçeli said, echoing the views expressed by the Turkish Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the issue.
He invited outside parties “to encourage dialogue and cooperation rather than supporting the intransigent stance of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus.”
“We protest the activities carried out by the vessel without the approval of the TRNC and the NAVTEX messages published by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus regarding these activities,” the Turkish Cypriot foreign ministry said earlier in a statement.
The statement demanded that the vessel immediately cease its unauthorized activities and leave the continental shelf while reminding that “foreign-flagged vessels must obtain the TRNC’s approval for any activities they intend to carry out in the TRNC’s maritime jurisdiction.”
