Turkey’s visiting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted Tuesday on a two-state solution in Cyprus, in an uncompromising speech on the 47th anniversary of his country’s invasion that divided the Mediterranean island.
“We don’t have another 50 years to waste,” he told a crowd at a parade in the north of the capital Nicosia, referring to decades of failed UN-led efforts to reunite the Greek and Turkish Cypriot-controlled sectors of Cyprus.
“No progress can be made in negotiations without accepting that there are two peoples and two states with equal status,” he said.
“A new negotiating process can only be carried out between two states… The sovereign equality and equal status of the Turkish Cypriots must be confirmed. That’s the key to a solution.”
To cheers from Turkish-flag-waving supporters, Erdogan accused the Greek Cypriots of “blocking any route to a solution” with a “maximalist approach… that is disconnected from the reality”.
He dismissed a warning this month from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that Brussels would “never accept” a two-state solution for Cyprus, an EU member since 2004.
In contrast to celebrations in the north, sirens blasted across southern Nicosia at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) to mark the July 20, 1974 start of the invasion.
Turkish troops seized the northern third of Cyprus in response to an aborted coup in Nicosia aimed at attaching the country to Greece.
The island is now divided between the Greek Cypriot-run Republic of Cyprus and the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognised only by Ankara.
As he began his visit Monday, Erdogan vowed to make “no concession” on Ankara’s efforts to secure international recognition of the TRNC.
“On this island, there are two states and two peoples,” he told Turkish Cypriot deputies.
“We do not, and cannot make, any concession on that.”
– ‘Ghost town’ to reopen –
Erdogan’s comments echoed a push for international recognition by Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, elected in October on a platform of seeking a two-state solution rather than a federation.
Tatar, at Erdogan’s side on Tuesday, announced “the second phase of our plan to expand” the reopening of the Turkish army-controlled east coast resort of Varosha, which the invasion emptied of its Greek Cypriot residents.
“Life will restart in Varosha,” said Erdogan, renewing an offer of financial compensation for Greek Cypriots who lost properties in 1974.
Once a playground that hosted Hollywood celebrities, Varosha was for decades a fenced-off derelict ghost town, preserved as a bargaining chip in negotiations.
But the Turkish army restored public access to parts of its beachfront last year, weeks ahead of Tatar’s election.
Erdogan visited Varosha the following month in a move denounced by the Republic of Cyprus as a “provocation without precedent”.
Since then a major thoroughfare, Demokratias Avenue, has been cleared and workers have raced to spruce up the street ahead of a possible second visit.
Erdogan insisted that moves to revive the town would respect property rights.
“There won’t be new victimisations,” he said. “On the contrary, the current injustices will be addressed. We don’t have an eye on anyone’s land, rights or property, but nobody can touch the rights of Turkey or the TRNC.”
The internationally recognised government in Nicosia has stressed that Varosha is a “red line”, and strongly condemned Erdogan’s previous visit to northern Cyprus.
Greece’s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis tweeted Tuesday that “bloodshed” on Cyprus was “rejected by the civilised world”.
“Time passes but nobody forgets,” he wrote. “The message of a just solution with a united island and without an occupying army remains strong, resilient and active.”
Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias is due in Cyprus on Wednesday in the wake of Erdogan’s trip.
