Türkiye calls on UN Security Council to recognize sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriots
People wave Turkish Cypriot (R) and Turkish flags during a military parade on the anniversary of Türkiye's Peace Operation, Lefkosia (Nicosia), Turkish Cyprus, July 20, 2024. (AFP Photo)
Türkiye on Friday urged the U.N. Security Council to recognize the realities on the ground in Cyprus and reaffirm the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, including their sovereign equality and equal international status.
“We once again emphasize that a just, lasting, and sustainable settlement of the Cyprus issue can only be achieved based on the realities on the ground,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement following the U.N. Security Council’s unanimous adoption of a resolution to extend the mandate of the U.N. Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for another year.
The ministry stressed that the peacekeeping force requires the consent of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to continue its activities on a “legal basis.”
“Türkiye supports the statements made by the TRNC regarding the resolution,” the ministry added. “Contrary to established U.N. practices, the consent of the Turkish Cypriot side was, once again, not obtained for the extension of UNFICYP’s mandate.”
The statement also reminded the U.N. that the peacekeeping force can only operate in the TRNC territory based on the goodwill of the TRNC authorities. It also emphasized the urgent need to establish a legal foundation for the continuation of these activities.
The ministry reaffirmed that Türkiye will “fully support” the TRNC in this matter.
Additionally, Türkiye expressed disappointment with the U.N. Security Council’s continued reference to “outdated settlement models” in the resolution, despite these models no longer being relevant to a possible settlement.
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus ‘strongly’ rejects UN resolution
Meanwhile, TRNC on Friday criticized the extension of the U.N. Security Council’s decision to extend the mandate of the UNFICYP for another year.
“We strongly reject this approach, which disregards the will and existence of the Turkish Cypriot side,” TRNC’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“We would like to emphasize once again that we do not accept the decisions of the U.N. Security Council that extend the mandate of UNFICYP due to their illegitimate recognition of the Greek Cypriot side as a ‘state,’” added the statement.
Decades-long Cyprus dispute
Cyprus has been embroiled in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite numerous diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to reach a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic violence beginning in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to retreat into enclaves for safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at annexing the island to Greece prompted Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. This led to the establishment of the TRNC in 1983.
The peace process has fluctuated in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the U.K.
The Greek Cypriot Administration joined the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a U.N. plan to resolve the longstanding dispute.
