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

ADDS MORE DETAILS FROM RESOLUTION

By Zehra Nur Duz

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 resolution underlined that the Turkish Cypriot people, with the support of Türkiye, have been making sincere efforts towards a “fair, lasting, and sustainable solution.”

"However, despite the constructive role of the Turkish side in the negotiation process that has been ongoing for more than 50 years, no result has been achieved due to the uncompromising attitude of the Greek side," said the resolution.

"While the Greek Cypriots have been rewarded with EU membership, the Turkish Cypriots have been subjected to unjust and inhumane isolation, restrictions, and embargoes."

"The two-state solution policy is the only way to ensure stability and lasting peace in the Mediterranean region,” it said, adding: “The existence of two separate peoples and states on the island should no longer be ignored."

“Türkiye will continue to be the guarantor of the freedom and prosperity of the Turkish Cypriots, fulfilling its responsibilities as a 'guarantor state' and 'motherland' with sensitivity, as it has done so far,” the resolution noted.

“The full support of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and the Republic of Türkiye for the TRNC will continue under all circumstances and without interruption,” it added.

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.​​​​​​​