The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has renewed its call for the international community to recognize what it describes as its sovereign equality and equal international status.
In a statement, the TRNC Foreign Ministry said its position, shared with Türkiye, is based on sovereign equality and equal international standing. The ministry argued that a lasting settlement in Cyprus would require recognition of the Turkish Cypriot side’s equal status.
The ministry said Cyprus consists of two separate communities and claimed that settlement efforts ignoring this reality would not succeed. It also rejected the idea of a rotating presidency within a unified state, saying such a model conflicts with its position favoring sovereign equality and equal international status.
The statement also addressed Turkish Cypriot representation in the European Parliament. The ministry argued that attempts to claim seats allocated to Turkish Cypriots would amount to accepting the authority and EU status of the Republic of Cyprus, which it says does not represent Turkish Cypriots.
Decades Long Cyprus Dispute
Cyprus has remained divided between Greek and Turkish Cypriots despite years of United Nations-supported negotiations aimed at reaching a comprehensive settlement.
Tensions and violence in the early 1960s led many Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves. In 1974, following a coup by Greek Cypriot forces seeking union with Greece, Türkiye intervened as a guarantor power, according to the TRNC account cited in the article.
The TRNC was established in 1983 and has since participated in intermittent efforts to resolve the dispute. A major UN-backed negotiation process in Switzerland in 2017 ended without an agreement.
The internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, while the island remains divided and negotiations over its political future continue.
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