Turkey's Erdogan Rules Out Concessions On Cyprus Visit
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published July 19, 2021 | 10:20 PM
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Monday to make no "concession" as he pressed for a two-state solution for Cyprus, during a visit to the divided eastern Mediterranean island
Nicosia, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jul, 2021 ) :Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Monday to make no "concession" as he pressed for a two-state solution for Cyprus, during a visit to the divided eastern Mediterranean island.
Erdogan began a two-day visit Monday to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), whose independence is only recognised by Ankara.
The island has been divided since 1974, when Turkey seized the north, in response to a coup orchestrated by an Athens-backed junta seeking to annex the island to Greece.
Erdogan, whose visit coincides with the 47th anniversary of the invasion, told a special session of the breakaway northern region's parliament he firmly rejected international efforts to reunify the island.
"On this island, there are two states and two peoples," Erdogan said, in comments carried live on television in Turkey.
"We do not, and cannot make, any concession on that," he said, in reference to Turkish Cypriot TRNC leader Ersin Tatar's push at UN-brokered talks for international recognition.
In April, a UN summit failed to reach a deal aimed at resuming talks that stalled in 2017.
Tatar told that meeting he would only negotiate on the terms of a two-state solution.
His stance was flatly rejected by the majority Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, a European Union member with effective control over the southern two-thirds of the island.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this month Brussels would "never accept" a two-state solution for island.
Erdogan said past experiences "taught everyone clearly that Greek Cypriots have no intention of establishing a partnership state" comprised of two equal halves.
In 2004, Greek Cypriots rejected a UN plan for the creation of a loose federation on the island, pointing out that it did not include a clear right for Greek Cypriots to return to the occupied north.
The majority of Turkish Cypriots voted for the scheme.
On Tuesday, Erdogan is expected to review some of the thousands of Turkish troops in the breakaway north in the abandoned beach resort of Varosha, which the 1974 invasion emptied of its Greek Cypriot inhabitants.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
Mired in crisis, Boeing reports another loss
Session Awarding Ceremony 2024 held at Cadet College Muzaffarabad
Austrian ski great Hirscher to make comeback under Dutch flag
Pakistan, Japan agrees to convene 'Economic Policy Dialogue'
FM Dar conveys deepest sympathy on torrential rains devastation in UAE
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 1st update
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
Osaka seals first win on clay since 2022 in Madrid
Earthquake jolts Karachi
Sindh minister orders operation after attack on police in Ghotki
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
More Stories From World
-
Football: English Championship table
3 hours ago -
Time for 'democratic transition' in Venezuela: opposition candidate to AFP
4 hours ago -
Spain's Pedro Sanchez : a risk-taker with a flair for survival
4 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 table
4 hours ago -
Nadal will only play French Open if he can 'compete well'
4 hours ago -
Ukraine, Israel, TikTok: the massive aid package before US Congress
4 hours ago
-
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
5 hours ago -
Football: French Ligue 1 results
5 hours ago -
Spain PM Sanchez says weighing resignation after wife's graft probe
6 hours ago -
Long-lost Klimt portrait auctioned off for 30 mn euros
6 hours ago -
TikTok to fight US ban law in courts
6 hours ago -
Anger among Ukrainians in Poland as Kyiv halts passport renewals
6 hours ago