Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus president meets with UN chief in New York

By Seyit Kurt

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhurman met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, according to a statement from the TRNC Presidency.

The meeting at UN headquarters in New York was conducted in a positive atmosphere and addressed the Cyprus issue along with current regional developments, the statement said.

"During the bilateral meeting, views were exchanged on current regional developments, particularly the Cyprus issue, and President Erhurman set out to the secretary-general his four-point methodology regarding the settlement process, which the president had previously made public, as well as providing an update on recent developments relating to the confidence-building measures," it added.

Erhurman reiterated that unjust and unlawful isolations imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people should be lifted without further delay.

According to a UN readout issued after the talks, Guterres held an introductory meeting with Erhurman, and the two discussed the way forward on the Cyprus issue.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN 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.

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 entered the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.