Türkiye on Friday called on the UN Security Council to acknowledge the realities on the ground on the island of Cyprus and “reaffirm the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, namely 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 after the UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) for another year.
The peacekeeping force needs the consent of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to continue its activities on a “legal basis,” the ministry stated.
Stressing that Türkiye supports statements by the TRNC regarding the resolution, it noted, “Contrary to the established UN practices, the consent of the Turkish Cypriot side was, yet again, not obtained for the extension of UNFICYP’s mandate.”
“We remind (UN) that the force is able to carry out its activities in the territory of the TRNC solely on the basis of the goodwill of the TRNC authorities. We also emphasize the urgent need to establish a legal basis for the continuation of these activities,” the ministry added.
It underscored that Türkiye will “fully support” the TRNC in this regard.
The ministry also expressed disappointment over the UN Security Council’s continued reference to “outdated settlement models” in its resolution on extending UNFICYP’s mandate, despite these models no longer being relevant to a possible settlement.
– DECADES-LONG DISPUTE
Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN 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.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the UK.
The Greek Cypriot Administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.