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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan affirmed, during his visit to northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Ankara, that “there are two separate peoples and states in Cyprus”, calling for “holding talks to reach a solution based on two separate states “.
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Erdogan and Arsen Tatar in Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey – November 15, 2020 (AFP)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asked on Sunday, during a controversial visit to northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Ankara, for talks on the island in accordance with the principle of “two separate states.”
Erdogan also visited the “Varosha” area in the north, which was a luxurious resort, and became a “ghost town” in Famagusta within the United Nations-established buffer zone that divided the island after the invasion. North Turkish in 1974.
“There are two separate peoples and two states in Cyprus,” Erdogan said after arriving in the northern part on the 37th anniversary of the declaration of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, which only Ankara recognizes, adding: “They must be celebrated. talks to reach a solution based on two separate states “. .
Erdogan said that “this place has been closed for years, but the time has come to launch initiatives,” noting that “Turkish Cypriots have never been granted an equal share of the island’s resources.”
The Turkish president promised “compensation to the Greek Cypriots who lost their land, homes and businesses in Varosha,” noting that “if the right holders submit an application to the Property Committee, compensation will be paid for their properties.”
Erdogan also stressed that “the only victims of the Cyprus problem are the Turkish Cypriots, whose rights and existence have been ignored for years.”
Erdogan’s visit comes amid disputes between Turkey and Greece and Cyprus over disputed maritime areas, believed to contain important gas fields.
The Turkish president said: “We will continue our research and exploration activities in the eastern Mediterranean until a fair agreement is reached.”
President Erdogan makes statements in the closed region of Varosha https://t.co/gwMRBidMZg
– Presidency of the Republic of Turkey (@tcbestepe) November 15, 2020
Meanwhile, in the Republic of Cyprus, the Greek Cypriots demonstrated against the visit of the Turkish president at a crossing along the buffer zone.
Erdogan’s visit to the region comes amid an atmosphere of high tension on the island, and the Republic of Cyprus denounced it as an “unprecedented provocation”.
Erdogan EXIT from Cyprus: He has no rights over Cyprus. Our city NOT yours. NO PICNIC ABOUT PAIN! We can’t go to Deryneia due to Covid restrictions, but we are here! #Varosha #NoPicnicOverDolor #Cyprus pic.twitter.com/FTRUiA3m95
– Marina Loucaides (@dancestorms) November 15, 2020
Cypriot President Nikos Anastasiades condemned Erdogan’s visit, saying it “undermines the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General to call for an informal five-year dialogue” between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, Athens, Ankara and London, the former power. colonial on the island.
Anastasiades said in a statement that such movements “do not contribute to ensuring an appropriate and positive atmosphere for the resumption of talks to reach a solution to the Cyprus problem.”
The presence of the President of Turkey at the celebrations of the 37th anniversary of the declaration of the illegal regime in Turkish-occupied Cyprus and his visit to the walled city of Famagusta constitute an unprecedented provocation. pic.twitter.com/H580F0q6PW
– KD Presidency (@CYpresidency) November 14, 2020
For its part, the Greek Foreign Ministry condemned Erdogan’s “provocation” and said in a statement that “the visit of the Turkish president to occupied Varosha, accompanied by a government team, is an unprecedented provocation that violates the UN resolutions “.
Erdogan’s visit also comes a few weeks after Ankara’s nationalist ally Ersin Tatar won the presidential elections in northern Cyprus.
Hopes for the reunification of the island diminish with the coming to power of the current “two-state solution”, unlike its predecessor, Mustafa Akinci, who called for “the reunification of the island on the basis of a federal solution.”
The last UN-sponsored peace talks on the reunification of the island failed in 2017.
Erdogan’s statements constitute another setback for efforts to reunify the Mediterranean island divided between the Republic of Cyprus, a member of the European Union, and the northern part known as “Turkish Cyprus.”
It is noteworthy that Turkey deploys around 30,000 troops in the northern part of the island, and Turkish forces partially reopened “Varusha” on October 8, prompting international criticism.
On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Varosha, Famagusta, on a visit at the invitation of his counterpart in northern Cyprus, Arsen Tatar.
Varosha, which was described as the “jewel of the Mediterranean”, has been dubbed “the ghost town” and has remained desolate and surrounded by barbed wire since Turkey invaded northern Cyprus in 1974.
Turkish forces partially reopened Varosha on October 8, prompting international criticism.
It states that after the invasion, which occurred in the context of a coup aimed at annexing it to Greece, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was declared on November 15, 1983, but only obtained recognition from Ankara.
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