World Must Respect Will of Turkish Cypriot People: TRNC President
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Raven Ruma
- . December 23, 2023
- . Update: December 23, 2023 3:26 pm
Acknowledging the presence of the Turkish military in upholding the sovereignty of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, President Ersin Tatar said the world must respect the will of the Turkish Cypriot people. “We attach importance to the presence of the Turkish military as a deterrent force under the guarantee of our motherland within the framework of our own state. These are our red lines.”
He criticized the international community for putting pressure on the Turkish Cypriot people, with intention to include the north and south under the European Union, and severe historical ties with Turkey. Tatar said they do not want to go back to the time before the 1974 Turkish Peace Operation.
“We can only accept a solution model where two sovereign equal states cooperate side by side. We can never and should never agree to be dragged into an adventure without Turkey, without the guarantee of our motherland.”
Turkish Cypriot Doesn’t Want Greece
Since 1974, Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south. Turkey only recognizes the Turkish Cypriot north, while the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state, is internationally recognized as the sole sovereign authority.
Tatar said the EU keeps doing the same thing, nothing has changed. “Federal settlement plans have been discussed for 50 years; nothing has been achieved. The United Nations knows this, Europeans know this, and they come up every six months with the same thing: that you should sit at the table to discuss Cyprus settlement on a federal basis.”
The EU has rejected Turkey’s push for a two-state solution and expects the resumption of Cyprus settlement talks within the UN framework. But Tatar, who came to power in 2020, is adamant on a two-state solution. He expects the EU and the United Nations to be more impartial.
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Turkish Military Presence Ensures Security
Tatar said that in the heart, Turkish Cypriots feel Europeans but they cannot be parted from Turkey. “It’s our motherland. He said the Turkish military presence was the only way Turkish Cypriots could feel secure. “I only trust Turkey. I don’t want to insult anybody, by my true feeling is that nobody will risk their lives for us.”
According to the Crisis Group, the prospects for the reunification of Cyprus have diminished dramatically over the last six years. The Republic of Cyprus sees the north as increasingly under Turkey, while the north considers its counterparts too complacent to seriously negotiate.
