By Gunay Nuh and Cuneyt Celik
ARDAHAN, Türkiye (AA) - The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said Thursday that Turkish Cypriots must live independently to be the castle of the Turkic world in the Mediterranean region.
“If we are to walk stronger together into the future, Turkish Cypriots must live independently. It must be the castle of the Turkish world in the Mediterranean. We are a castle there for the entire Turkic world," Ersin Tatar said at a conference in Türkiye’s northeastern Ardahan province.
Tatar said the Eastern Mediterranean, where energy resources intersect, is a very important center for the national interests of an independent TRNC.
Emphasizing that the Turkish Cypriots should live independently forever, he said “the enemies will not be given an opportunity regarding the Cyprus issue."
“The Cyprus issue is a national cause, a national value, the result of a national cause and will live forever,” he said, adding that the TRNC wants to act together with Türkiye to further strengthen the historical ties between the countries.
- Decades-long conflict
The Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts 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 military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was founded Nov. 15, 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 was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.
*Writing by Gozde Bayar