Turkish Cyprus FM blasts UN Security Council for 'stealing 60 years' from Turkish Cypriots
NICOSIA
The foreign minister of the Turkish Cyprus accused the U.N. Security Council of "stealing 60 years" from Turkish Cypriots despite decades of talks on the island's division.
Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, in the U.S. last week for the U.N. General Assembly, told reporters in Washington that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's U.N. speech call for Turkish Cyprus recognition was "highly meaningful and extremely important."
"These were not statements made just for the sake of words," he said.
"As you know, they fully align with a decision unanimously approved by the Turkish parliament."
Ertuğruloğlu added that in meetings with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his team, the Turkish Cypriot position was repeated several times.
He pointed out 60 years of negotiations, including late Turkish Cyprus founder Rauf Denktaş's push for a federation, but said Greek Cypriots never truly supported it.
They joined talks to dodge blame while sabotaging deals, wrongly labeling Denktaş "Mr. No."
There is no room left for a new partnership on the island, he said—that era "ended long ago" due to Greek Cypriot stubbornness, backed by U.N. Security Council permanent members.
The island's future lies in "two sovereign and equal states" cooperating as neighbors on mutual terms, Ertuğruloğlu stressed.
On the Turkish Cyprus presidential elections set for Oct. 19, he said a "5+1" U.N. meeting in New York could follow, involving the Turkish Cyprus president, Greek Cypriot leader, foreign ministers from guarantors Türkiye, Greece and the UK, plus Guterres.
Turkish forces in the Turkish Cyprus ensure no military threat to Turkish Cypriots, he noted.
On reports of the Greek Cypriot side shipping arms to Israel, Ertuğruloğlu warned they—backed by Israel and possibly the U.S.—might eye action against Türkiye.
He recalled the U.S. lifting its arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot Administration in 2021, now providing weapons and training.
The Cyprus dispute has dragged on for decades between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite U.N. efforts for a settlement.
Ethnic attacks in the 1960s pushed Turkish Cypriots into enclaves for safety.
A 1974 Greek Cypriot coup for union with Greece prompted Türkiye's intervention as guarantor to shield Turkish Cypriots.
The Turkish Cyprus formed in 1983.Recent peace talks, including a failed 2017 bid in Switzerland with guarantors Türkiye, Greece and the UK, have stalled.
The Greek Cypriot Administration joined the EU in 2004, the year Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. plan to resolve the issue.
