Turkish parliament passes resolution regarding 50th anniversary of Cyprus Peace Operation

By Zehra Nur Duz and Seda Sevencan

ANKARA / ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish parliament on Thursday passed a resolution regarding the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation.

In a resolution, the Turkish parliament said: “Northern Cyprus can no longer be delayed in taking its rightful place as an independent and sovereign member of the international community.”

“We call on the international community to end the inhumane isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people and to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the manner it deserves,” said the resolution passed in the Turkish parliament.

The 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. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

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.​​​​​​​