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The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) said Saturday that the armament of the Greek Cypriot administration raises serious concerns.
Ersin Tatar told reporters at a news conference at Turkish House (Turkevi) in New York, where he is visiting amid the 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly, that no ground for negotiation was found this week in informal talks with the Greek Cypriot side.
“The Greek Cypriot side claims to want peace and stability, but they are constantly arming themselves,” Tatar said.
He noted that the TRNC had informed U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that southern Cyprus resorted to excessive armament under agreements it made with Israel.
“The excessive armament increases the danger on the island and causes further tension and unease,” he said.
Tatar added that Turkish Cypriots have been under restrictions since 1963, stressing that the TRNC continues to fight for two sovereign states with equal rights on the island.
He said Turkish Cypriots have undergone a “paradigm shift” in negotiations in the last five years, moving from a federal solution toward two separate states, a position he said has strengthened the TRNC’s foundation.
When asked what timetable had been set following talks with the Greek Cypriots this week under U.N. auspices, Tatar said there is no common ground because southern Cyprus does not accept the TRNC’s demand for sovereign equality.
“There will be no official negotiation process until the Greek Cypriot administration accepts it,” he said.
Tatar emphasized that with Türkiye’s full support and Ankara’s strengthening position in the world, the TRNC is now in a stronger position on the island compared with the past.
Despite the ongoing lack of recognition, Tatar said the TRNC trades with many countries and attracts tourists and students from abroad.
“The system is now so well-established that no one can easily disrupt the institutional structure,” he said, stressing that Southern Cyprus has no authority over Northern Cyprus.
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Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a 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.
The TRNC was founded in 1983.
The island has since seen an on-and-off peace process, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the U.K.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots blocked a U.N. plan to end the dispute.
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