Northern Cyprus urges international community to reaffirm sovereign equality

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Sunday again called on the international community to take steps toward reaffirming what it described as its inherent right to sovereign equality and equal international status.

In a written statement, the TRNC Foreign Ministry said the official policy of the TRNC and Türkiye on the Cyprus issue is based on the principles of sovereign equality and equal international status.

The ministry said a lasting settlement on the island requires the international community to recognize the TRNC's equal status.

“The fundamental reality is that there are two separate peoples and two independent and sovereign states living side by side on the island. Policies pursued in disregard of these realities will continue to be doomed to failure,” the statement said.

Commenting on a proposed “rotating presidency” between Turkish and Greek Cypriots in a hypothetical state covering the entire island, the ministry said the issue had been part of a model negotiated for decades.

“Although this issue was an element of the model negotiated for decades, that model ultimately collapsed due to the maximalist and uncompromising stance of the Greek Cypriot Administration, which refused to recognize the TRNC's equal status and rejected the sharing of governance and resources,” it said.

The ministry added that the proposed arrangement envisages a system of governance within a unitary state and is “fundamentally incompatible” with the TRNC's position based on sovereign equality and equal international status.

The statement again called for the TRNC's sovereign equality and equal international status to be reaffirmed and urged the international community to take steps in that direction.

The ministry also criticized references in the European Parliament to “the right to two seats allocated to Turkish Cypriots,” arguing that attempts to claim such seats would amount to accepting the status of the Republic of Cyprus as the representative of the entire island.

It said Turkish Cypriots neither participate in nor are represented in the Republic of Cyprus' institutions, which, according to the TRNC, were seized by the Greek Cypriot side in 1963.

“While such an approach cannot be accepted, the Turkish Cypriot people should also not be expected to support initiatives pursued in this direction,” the statement said.

The Republic of Cyprus has represented the island internationally and has been a member of the European Union since 2004, while the TRNC is recognized only by Türkiye.

Cyprus has remained divided for decades despite repeated diplomatic efforts, including UN-backed initiatives, to reach a comprehensive settlement between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

The dispute intensified following intercommunal violence in the early 1960s, after which Turkish Cypriots withdrew into enclaves, according to historical accounts.

In 1974, a coup by Greek Cypriot forces backed by Greece sought to bring about union with Greece. Türkiye subsequently intervened militarily as a guarantor power, citing the need to protect Turkish Cypriots. The TRNC was established in 1983.

The island has since experienced successive rounds of negotiations. A major UN-backed initiative in 2017 ended without an agreement at talks in Switzerland involving the island's two sides and the guarantor countries, Türkiye, Greece and the UK.

The Republic of Cyprus joined the EU in 2004. That same year, Greek Cypriot voters rejected the UN-backed Annan Plan, while Turkish Cypriot voters approved it.