Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus now represented in Turkic, Islamic groupings despite Greek Cypriot efforts: President Erdogan

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is now represented in international groupings of Turkic and Islamic countries, despite Greek Cypriot efforts to paint themselves as the "sole authority" on the island, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday.

"Although the Greek Cypriots try to present themselves as the sole authority on the island, the TRNC is now represented at both the Organization of Turkic States and Organization of Islamic Cooperation," Erdogan said in his address to a July 20 Peace and Freedom Day parade in TRNC's capital, Lefkosa.

President Erdogan said the Greek Cypriots have always pursued a deadlock because they know they will never be allowed to have sole ownership of the island.

Decrying the Greek Cypriots' biased stance, he said that whenever the Turkish Cypriot side shows a constructive will, the Greek Cypriots reject the proposed plans, overturn the negotiating table and walk away, and then claim they want a solution and call for negotiations to restart.

"They tried to paint the Turkish Cypriots as a minority and force them into their so-called state," he said.

“As you know, it was actually the Turkish Cypriot side that proposed a federal solution, but the Greek Cypriots insisted on a 'unitary state.' The federal model had been accepted as the main framework for negotiations under the leadership of the late (TRNC President) Rauf Denktas. So what did the Greek Cypriots do when they couldn't even accept the federal solution model like the 1960 partnership state? They rejected all proposals prepared on the basis of a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal model,” he added.

The Turkish president reaffirmed Ankara's support for the two-state solution proposed by TRNC President Ersin Tatar, reiterating the call for supporting this solution.

President Erdogan also urged the global community to forge ties with the TRNC, both diplomatic and economic, adding that direct flights and trade must also be allowed.

Turkish Cypriots can't afford to lose another 60 years, he said, adding that it is time to move beyond the "outdated, UN-backed federation model" for the island.

Insisting on a solution model that Turkish Cypriots have clearly withdrawn their support from and that has failed many times before benefits no one, he added.

On the years of oppression the Turkish Cypriots suffered, he said "we have not forgotten" what happened to the Turkish Cypriots, stressing that Türkiye will do whatever it takes to prevent any recurrence of such pain.

"With the landing of Turkish soldiers on the island for the (1974) Cyprus Peace Operation, the whole world saw the Turkish Cypriots did not stand alone," he added.

Turkish Cypriots will forever live free in their own homeland, with Türkiye's full support, no matter what anyone says, Erdogan vowed.

-Greek coup sought to ‘exterminate' Turkish Cypriots

Also speaking, Tatar said the Cyprus Peace Operation was conducted with limited opportunities in difficult circumstances.

“It's as if what's been happening in Gaza over the past two years was experienced by the Turkish Cypriots on this island 60 years ago. The bloody coup carried out on July 15, 1974, by the Greek junta and its fascist extensions in Cyprus with the aim of Enosis (union with Greece) had the goal of exterminating the Turkish Cypriots through a genocide similar to what happened in Crete,” he added.

Expressing their determination to push for a two-state solution on the island, Tatar said the Turkish Cypriots are “no longer in a passive position” but are “equal actors on the ground.”

He said they stand firm against all disinformation campaigns and efforts by the Greek Cypriot side aimed at isolating the Turkish Cypriots and imposing their so-called negotiation and solution framework.

“We see Türkiye's support. With every move the Greek Cypriots make, we get even greater support from our motherland Türkiye,” he added.

- Cyprus Peace Operation

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN 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 Peace Operation 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 UK.

The Greek Cypriot Administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.