UN lost impartiality on Cyprus, says Turkish Cypriot foreign minister

By Mustafa Deveci

ANKARA (AA) – The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) foreign minister said the UN has lost its impartiality towards Cyprus, the reason being the five permanent members of its Security Council.

Tahsin Ertugruloglu spoke with Anadolu about recent developments on the island, particularly the Pile-Yigitler road construction and repair project.

When asked about the Sept. 28 Turkish National Security Council statement, which stressed that there is a need for formation of a legal basis for UN peacekeeping force’s activities in the TRNC through a written agreement with Turkish Cypriot authorities, Ertugruloglu said: "The UN has become an organization that has lost its impartiality on Cyprus, and the responsible party for this is the UN Security Council, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. This fact should never be overlooked."

It is important to understand how accurate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement "the world is bigger than five" is, he added.

The council is made up of 15 members, including five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the UK, and US.

Ertugruloglu said the Pile-Yigitler road construction is still ongoing, and the project will soon extend to the area that gained attention in August this year when UN peacekeepers attempted to obstruct its construction.

The minister added that he does not believe the UN peacekeeping force will attempt to obstruct ongoing work in the region again.

"Such actions would be highly unfavorable, and we do not even consider the possibility of respecting this, giving up on road construction. We will continue with the road construction. There is no turning back now," he vowed.

In response to the UN Security Council's criticism of the TRNC on the road project, Ertugruloglu said, "The fact that the UN Security Council issued a critical statement against us even in an event like this one should show the degree to which the UN has lost its impartiality in favor of the Greek Cypriots."

“We already experience this in our relations with the UN every day on the island. Not only in the case of the Pile-Yigitler road but in every matter we deal with the UN, we encounter this inequality,” he added.

On Aug. 18, UN peacekeepers intervened in road construction work to connect the Turkish Cypriot village of Pile in the island’s buffer zone with the rest of the TRNC.

The roadwork is strategically important for residents as it will give them more options to reach Pile, where Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots live together.

The Greek Cypriot administration and the UN, however, are opposed to the project.

*Writing by Seda Sevencan