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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dashed hopes on Saturday for a resumption of talks on ethnically divided Cyprus, at the anniversary marking 50 years since the Turkish invasion.
Erdoğan reaffirmed his support for a two-state deal and ruled out peace talks based on a United Nations-endorsed plan for a federation, ahead of a military parade on Saturday to mark the anniversary that split the Mediterranean island along ethnic lines.
“We believe a federal solution is not possible in Cyprus,” he said, adding that the Turkish north is the “apple of Turkey’s eye.”
Greek Cypriots dismiss a two-state deal as a non-starter. Both Greece and Cyprus have repeatedly said that they remain steadfastly committed to the goal of reunifying Cyprus within the framework of United Nations resolutions.
“We will not allow unilateral actions, nor will the Turkish Cypriot people succumb to threats,” Erdoğan said. “It is impossible to ignore the ancient and fundamental component of the island, the Turkish Cypriots.”
Cyprus has been divided into a Turkish Cypriot north and a Greek Cypriot south since Turkish forces invaded in 1974, in response to a Greek-backed coup. Ankara does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member state that is otherwise recognized internationally as the sole sovereign authority over the whole island. The Turkish Cypriot north is recognized only by Ankara.
Multiple attempts to find a compromise settlement over the years have failed, the last one in 2017 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland; and formal talks have not resumed since then.
The 50th anniversary of the invasion finds the island with the partition more entrenched than ever. This is the longest period it has passed without dialogue.
Mourning and jubilation
On Saturday, there were divergent moods in the island’s north and south, as Greek Cypriots mourned in emotional memorial events in the south and Turkish Cypriots in the north celebrated in jubilant ceremonies. A protest against the occupation took place across the buffer zone, sending a message against separation.
Air raid sirens were heard moaning in the sky of the divided capital of Nicosia at 5:30 a.m., marking the time the invasion began half a century ago.
“This is a difficult day for everyone,” Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said during a memorial service for the fallen. “If we want to send a message on this tragic anniversary, truly honoring those who sacrificed themselves so that we can exist here today, we have to do everything possible to reunify our country.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will deliver a speech later on Saturday at a remembrance event commemorating the coup and the invasion at the presidential palace.
“Too much time has been lost,” the European Union’s diplomatic service said in a statement issued late Friday. “A forced division can never be a solution. Hope for a better future, a united Cyprus, still exists.”
