A major tech event and inauguration of a new administrative complex built by Türkiye highlighted bonds between Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) as leaders vowed enduring solidarity between the two countries.
Türkiye’s tech titans, ministers and Erdoğan descended on the Mediterranean island for the Teknofest event on Friday and Saturday, while a massive complex built by Türkiye for the TRNC Presidency and Parliament was inaugurated by the president on Saturday.
Erdoğan reiterated solidarity with the TRNC in its righteous cause for achieving sovereign equality in the divided island. Speaking to reporters during his return to Türkiye from the TRNC, Erdoğan reiterated Türkiye’s support for the TRNC and said the country would “sooner or later gain sovereign equality and equal international status.”
Türkiye backs the TRNC’s opposition to a federation in the island, an idea proposed in the past for the two communities to have an equal say in the island’s affairs. Greece and Greek Cypriots advocate for one sovereign state on the island.
The conflict has long been on the agenda of the U.N., which has kept a peacekeeping force on the island since 1964.
In the early 1960s, ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming 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 seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.’s “Annan Plan” to end the dispute, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.
Erdoğan noted that a March meeting hosted by the U.N. in Geneva between the sides on the island and guarantor states paved the way for cooperation in several fields between the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot administration, and Ankara would play a constructive role in the matter.
“The motherland Türkiye will always stand with the TRNC and our solidarity will last forever. We sincerely desire a fair, lasting, sustainable and realistic solution,” he said. “Developments in our region show that this reality should be accepted now. It is time for everybody to accept that the island hosts two peoples and two states. As the motherland and guarantor state, our support to Turkish Cypriots, to their independent state, will prevail. Turkish Cypriot people, an inseparable part of the Turkic world, by God’s will, will reach the point they desired, with the support of our country,” Erdoğan said.
On Saturday, TRNC President Ersin Tatar reaffirmed bonds with Türkiye, “with whom we wrote the history,” referring to staving off Greek Cypriot plots in the 1970s. “We owe our living in peace here to the efforts of Türkiye and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Southern Cyprus (of the Greek Cypriots) and others may have other designs on the island, but we will carry TRNC to the future with our motherland,” he said on the sidelines of the Teknofest event.
Turkish Cypriots often pursued an approach that safeguarded the rights of the community, though it was open to concessions in the past, including a bicommunal federation. Under Tatar, who was elected in 2020, the state adopted a more hawkish tone and persisted in sovereign equality and the two-state solution on the island. The TRNC sees recognition of sovereign equality and equal international status by the international community as a priority to resume talks with the Greek Cypriot community for a fair, permanent and lasting solution to the question. Tatar and Erdoğan reiterated this view on international platforms, particularly at the U.N.
Answering a question on developments in southern Cyprus, where the Greek Orthodox archbishop recently made provocative remarks targeting Turkish Cypriots and the establishment of an anti-Turkish terrorist group, Erdoğan said history would repeat itself for “those who did not learn their lessons.” “I strongly condemn any remarks harming the language of peace in Cyprus,” Erdoğan said. The president said they did all they could for peace and security in the island of Cyprus and would continue doing so.
“The fact that the TRNC’s rights and interests are the same as ours will not change. We won’t allow any approach to disrupt peace in the island, any approach that hurts the sensitivities here, or that aims to incite strife. Those resorting to terrorism, those ignoring the existence of Turkish Cypriots, should know that Türkiye is stronger now. It will be better to adopt a constructive, unifying discourse rather than a discourse inciting tensions, for the future of the island. They should be careful. We will never allow the suffering to repeat. We will remain the biggest supporter of the righteous cause of Turkish Cypriots. Türkiye is not old Türkiye, neither the TRNC is the old TRNC. The world has changed as well. Bear these in mind,” Erdoğan warned.
World is bigger than Israel
Erdoğan also commented on Israel’s attacks in Gaza and beyond. He said that the world was definitely “bigger than Israel” and should act to “extinguish the fireball caused by Israel” in the region.
He said Israel failed to defeat the Palestinians by bombs and heavy weaponry and tried to do it by depriving Palestinians of food and medicine. “They weaponize food, clean water and medicine. We see a cycle of silence. They kill, massacre people, they attack sovereign states, they kill staff of international agencies, they commit genocide in plain sight, and the world remains silent. This cycle of silence should end now. Otherwise, it will be too late and those who remain silent in the face of Israel’s attacks will be held accountable. Israel should also know that they would not go unpunished for their crimes. Justice will prevail one day,” he said.
Erdoğan also spoke about a recent drone attack targeting an aid ship for Gaza near Malta and described it as “banditry and piracy.” “Israel is the greatest danger to international law. They made a habit of contravening international law. The world knows that the ship was carrying humanitarian aid and acted in line with international maritime laws,” he stated.
He also commented on tensions between Israel and Türkiye and emphasized that they were closely monitoring the steps Israel planned to take against Türkiye. He stated that Israel was disturbed by Türkiye’s regional influence and its gains. On a question about Israel’s attacks on Türkiye’s neighbor Syria, where a Türkiye-friendly administration is in power now and whether those attacks aimed to intimidate Türkiye, Erdoğan said Israel’s steps were threatening peace and security.
“We cut off all commercial ties with Israel because we know that the enemy of our friends is our enemy. You cannot expect humanity from Israel, which rained down bombs on the innocent people in Gaza and attempted to drive the entire region into ruin. Israel is fed upon blood and chaos. Peace and security are the last things it wants. Israel is disturbed by the winds of unity in Syria, by the fact that the people of Syria will now determine their own future,” he said.
Erdoğan pointed out that Israel tried to incite certain groups in Syria to pave the way for a new conflict, adding that anyone provoked by Israel to take action in the past regretted it later. “Israel only thinks about itself. Now, everyone should work to build a new Syria based on unity and territorial integrity. Israel’s provocation only promises blood, tears and death. A united Syria means a prosperous future. We will never allow our neighbor Syria to drift into another conflict,” he said.
On Friday, the Israeli army carried out an airstrike near the Presidential Palace in the Syrian capital. Israeli officials claimed the strike was a message against the presence of armed groups near southern Damascus and any potential threat to the Druze community. The timing of the strike is seen as particularly provocative, coming hours after prominent Druze community leaders released a video reaffirming their commitment to Syria’s unity and rejecting any form of division or separatism. Observers said the strike seeks to exploit sectarian divisions, especially within the Druze community, to justify intervention and push for fragmentation.