These days, world leaders are holding the annual session of the UN General Assembly. The president of the unrecognized Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ersin Tatar, also came to New York in the hope that his “country” can achieve recognition by the world community of its right to exist and an end to international isolation.
It was announced that Tatar intends to meet with the Secretary General Antonio Guterresto discuss demands for direct flights, trade, international contacts and lifting the embargo on the Turkish Cypriot community, the TRNC chairman said in a statement.
The visit came after a six-month evaluation by Angela Holguinthe personal representative of the UN chief, who recently completed a fact-finding mission to the island.
Tatar recently rejected calls from the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis resuming talks in Crans-Montana, citing failed talks in 2017 in the Swiss municipality. He warned that negotiations could jeopardize Turkish Cypriot sovereignty and Turkey’s role as guarantor power.
“We will not sit down at the negotiating table until the equal status and sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriots is recognised.” – said Tartar.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is only fully recognized by Türkiye, whose leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan He will also be in New York this week for his annual address to the assembly. Erdogan is expected to renew his call for recognition of the TRNC during his UN talks with other heads of state. Which, by the way, will not prevent Erdogan from immediately condemning self-determination for Crimea, Donbass or even Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry some time ago condemned the so-called roadmap for defense cooperation signed between the United States and the Greek Cypriot administration, saying that Washington’s actions undermine its neutrality and regional stability. In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it supports the TRNC’s position on this issue.
The Turkish Ministry noted that the measures taken by the US authorities undermine the security of the TRNC and hamper the search for a fair, lasting and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue.
“In this context, we believe that policies that could undermine regional stability should be reconsidered,” – the Turkish Ministry said, adding that Ankara will continue to ensure the security and prosperity of Turkish Cypriots as a guarantor state.
Washington imposed an arms embargo on Greek Cyprus in 1987 to prevent a possible arms race that could undermine peace talks with Turkish Cypriots, but lifted it last year.
The island of Cyprus is mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite several diplomatic efforts to reach a comprehensive solution. Ethnic attacks that began in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to retreat into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at annexing the island to Greece led to Turkish military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983. The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, the same year that the Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the long-running dispute.
Turkey fully supports the decision to create “two states on the island of Cyprus, based on sovereign equality and equal international status.”
