Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu made important statements on Cyprus.
He stated that demanding 2 seats for Turkish Cypriots in the European Parliament and Turkish as the official language would mean confirming that the Greek Cypriots are the owners of the Republic of Cyprus.
Emphasizing that the Cyprus issue is a national cause, Ertuğruloğlu said that all the problems in Cyprus stem from the aggressive Greek Cypriot community, which has been rewarded as the Republic of Cyprus.
Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu touched upon the Cyprus issue in his speech following the discussion of the budget of his ministry at the Republic’s Assembly.
Stating that it is necessary to reach a consensus on what the Cyprus problem is, Foreign Minister Ertuğruloğlu said that there is no consensus between the parties on this issue and the reason for this is the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Regarding the meetings at the Council of Europe, Ertuğruloğlu stated that they are called the elected representatives of the Turkish Cypriot community and that they do not have the right to vote and that these meetings are not of exaggerated importance.
Reiterating that demanding 2 seats for Turkish Cypriots in the European Parliament and Turkish as the official language would mean confirming that the Greek Cypriots are the owners of the Republic of Cyprus, Ertuğruloğlu said, “This is not how we see the so-called Cyprus problem. The Cyprus issue is a national cause. It is the cause of the Turkish nation.”
Ertuğruloğlu stated that all the problems stemmed from the aggressive Greek Cypriot community, which was rewarded as the Republic of Cyprus, and that it was the five permanent members of the UN Security Council that created the Cyprus problem.
Stating that the EU has done the greatest disservice to the Turkish Cypriots, Ertuğruloğlu said that the EU is aware of the mistake it has made by taking on the Greek Cypriots as a member, but it does not have the status or the capacity to rectify its mistake.
He underlined that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is not an EU territory and has not applied for membership.
Pointing to the UN Security Council, which could not even adopt a ceasefire resolution for Gaza, Ertuğruloğlu said, “Who are we going to trust? Is this the world, will we make concessions in our national cause by relying on them, will we take a step back?” he asked.
He emphasized that as long as the Greek Cypriot side is recognized as the legitimate Republic of Cyprus, there will be no common ground.
Stating that the UN could not find common ground even on the issue of Pile; Ertuğruloğlu said “They made one agreement with us and another with the Greek Cypriots”.
He criticized the UN granting authority to the Greek Cypriots to carry out parcelling work without their knowledge.
Stating that the UN asked for two weeks of time from them and in return, the Greek Cypriots carried out parcelling work, Ertuğruloğlu stated that the road built by the Turkish Cypriot side stopped at the beginning of the buffer zone due to the parcelling work of the Greek Cypriots.
“Greek Cypriots are absolutely not allowed to go to the plateau. Absolutely not. We will give up the road if necessary. We have a military unit there. We do not allow any initiative that will lead to the removal of that unit from there” said Ertuğruloğlu.
“Cyprus is the name of an island, not a state. There are two states on this island and the future can only be shaped by the good neighbourly relations of these two states. It is not possible to establish a partnership due to the Greek Cypriot side’s stance. The blame for this must stop being placed on us,” he said.