Cyprus problem misdefined by international community, says Turkish Cypriot foreign minister

ISTANBUL

The ongoing Cyprus dispute was caused by the international community, which continues to "misdefine" the problem, the Turkish Cypriot foreign minister said on Saturday.

"It is the international community that created the Cyprus problem and they continue to misdefine the problem," Tahsin Ertugruloglu said at the fourth International Strategic Communication Summit (Stratcom Summit '24) organized by the Turkish Presidential Communications Directorate in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Emphasizing that international platforms have failed to support the Turkish Cypriot people or provide opportunities for them to give voice to their cause, Ertugruloglu stated that, on the contrary, these platforms have actively hindered efforts to share the realities of the island.

Despite the embargoes and restrictions imposed on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), the Turkish Cypriot side continues to counter global misinformation and propaganda by striving to present the truth, he said.

“The voice of Turkish Cypriots is not heard. No one wants to listen to the Turkish Cypriot side of the story," he added, asserting that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council have "created an environment of misinformation."

"We have every reason to criticize Greek Cypriots because they have been unfair to us from day one, but the real parties that should be criticized and condemned are the international community, led by the UN Security Council and the EU, who have allowed Greek Cypriots to get away with their crimes.

"It is these actors who have given Greek Cypriots the opportunity to impose an embargo against us,” he said.

Decades-long Cyprus problem

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.

*Writing by Efe Ozkan