By Gozde Bayar and Jeyhun Aliyev
ANKARA (AA) - Turkey doesn't have "another 50 years to waste" on Cyprus issue, the Turkish president said on Tuesday, adding that proposals for a peaceful resolution of the issue are still on the table.
"A new negotiation process on Cyprus can only be carried out between the two states," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a ceremony in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) marking the 47th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation.
"The Greek Cypriots could not wake up from the ignorance of seeing Turkish Cypriots as a minority and rejecting a solution on the basis of equality," he said, adding that the Greek Cypriot side insists on maintaining its "maximalist, insincere and spoiled approach that is disconnected from reality."
Erdogan recalled that the EU vowed to support the Northern Cyprus in financial and administrative matters, but haven't done so.
Referring to the Greek Cypriot Administration, Erdogan said: "We can see that there are still those who yearn for the massacres before 1974. They are not honest."
"We are right [on Cyprus issue], and because we are right, we will defend our rights until the end," he stressed.
"No one should expect from Turkish Cypriots to give up their equal status and sovereignty, and to accept to live as a minority as per the will of the Greek Cypriots,” he said, adding that the Turkish Cypriots will not compromise on their independence and freedom.
“First of all, the sovereign equality and equal status of the Turkish Cypriots should be confirmed. This is the key to the solution,” the Turkish president said.
On the Maras town of the island, which was partially reopened to the public in 2020 after 47 years, Erdogan said the opening will be carried out with utmost attention to the property rights.