Türkiye continues efforts to secure international recognition for Northern Cyprus: Foreign Minister

By Diyar Guldogan

Ankara continues its efforts to secure international recognition for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Wednesday.

"We will continue to do our best to ensure that the Turkish Cypriot State is recognized in the international community," Fidan told a news conference with his Turkish Cypriot counterpart Tahsin Ertugruloglu in the capital Ankara.

Fidan said that Turkish foreign policy toward the Island of Cyprus is focused on the status of the TRNC in the international community and the welfare and security of the Turkish Cypriots.

The Cyprus issue has been left unresolved by the international community for many years, Fidan said, adding: "The main purpose here has been an approach that highlights the rights and interests of the Greek Cypriot side while leaving the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots far behind, if possible, ignoring them."

Turning to the use of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, Fidan said: "Frankly, I think waiting for the final solution on the Island to benefit from the energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean is not a good situation for both the region and the world."

He said that it is possible for both parties to use the energy potential that will benefit equally "without the need to wait for a political solution."

For his part, Ertugruloglu said the Cyprus problem is a national cause.

"It is not only the cause of our homeland, but also the cause of the Turkic world. It is a matter of the rights, laws and interests of the Turkic world in the Eastern Mediterranean," he added.

The Turkish Cypriot side made suggestions for the joint utilization of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, the minister said, adding the suggestions have always been rejected by the Greek Cypriot side.

"The underlying reason for the rejections is that the world has treated them as if you were the 'State of the Republic of Cyprus'. Therefore, they already see themselves as the rulers of the Island," he added.

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

Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.