Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made important statements on Cyprus.

“We are not satisfied with proposals based on federalism” said Erdoğan and emphasized that their goal is to increase the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Justice and Development Party Parliamentary Group Meeting on the Cyprus issue and the July 20 Peace and Freedom Day celebrations.

Pointing to the usurped rights of the Turkish Cypriot people in his speech, Erdoğan pointed out that the Turkish Cypriot people have been subjected to injustice, lawlessness and discrimination for almost three quarters of a century since the 1960s.

Stating that they remember the massacres between 1963 and 1974 as if it were yesterday, Erdoğan said: “We can never forget the villages that were burned, the children who were killed and the dramas of our Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters who were tried to be squeezed into only 3 percent of the island. Western institutions and organizations did nothing while all these atrocities were committed. Just as they watch the Gaza Genocide today, they watched the ethnic cleansing attempts against the Turkish Cypriot people from afar.”

Stating that with the July 20, 1974 Peace Operation, Türkiye broke the pattern of killing and saved the existence of the Turkish Cypriot people, Erdoğan said that the Peace Operation was crowned with the declaration of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in 1983.

Noting that the policies aimed at breaking the Turkish Cypriot will for independence have continued to increase since then, Erdoğan reminded that while the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which said yes to the Annan Plan in 2004, was punished, the Greek Cypriot community, which said no to the plan, was rewarded by becoming a full member of the European Union.

He stated that Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people are fed up with federalism-based proposals.

“Unfortunately, nothing has come out of the negotiation table,” Erdoğan said, “We have now seen that we cannot get anywhere with the old methods. We and the Turkish Cypriots are fed up of proposals based on federalism. As the motherland and guarantor country, we have reasserted our stance very clearly on the 50th anniversary of the Peace Operation” said Erdoğan.

He said that they once again demonstrated their support for the TRNC on the 50th anniversary of the Peace Operation and declared to the whole world the importance Türkiye attaches to the Cyprus cause and the independence of the TRNC.

Erdoğan also emphasized that their goal is to increase the recognition of the TRNC by saying “We are determined to continue the steps we have taken within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Organization of Turkic States. Likewise, we continue our support and investments for the Turkish Cypriot people to support themselves.”

He also thanked everyone who supported the Turkish Cypriot people with their presence during the July 20 celebrations and called on the opposition to abandon its politics of complaining about Türkiye to foreigners.

President Erdoğan wished that the unity displayed in Lefkoşa would be maintained consistently on national issues, especially the fight against terrorism, and expressed his gratitude to the Turkish Cypriot people and TRNC President Ersin Tatar for their sincere hospitality.

Emphasizing that they do not seek tension in relations with neighbouring countries, Erdoğan said that they are looking to improve their friendship with all countries starting from the immediate vicinity, to increase the number of their friends in the region and in the world, and that they are extremely sincere, determined and well-intentioned in these policies.