President Ersin Tatar paid a visit to the Security Forces Command Headquarters in Boğazköy on Wednesday.

President Tatar spoke about the developments in Cyprus and said that they will never accept the severing of ties with Türkiye, the termination of Türkiye’s right of guarantor and the withdrawal of the Turkish Armed Forces from Cyprus.

“Our struggle here is a matter of state and sovereignty, otherwise our survival may be in danger” said Tatar.

Speaking during the visit the President referred to his meeting with the UN Special Envoy to Cyprus Colin Stewart and spoke about the developments that are taking place.

Stating that after the elections in Türkiye and Greece, representatives from the UN, EU and the US had paid him visits in search for new ground in order for new developments to take place on the Cyprus issue, President Tatar said “Our struggle here is a matter of state and sovereignty, otherwise our existence may be in danger.”

Noting that when you look at statements that have been made in South Cyprus it is being claimed that Cyprus is a Hellenic island and that it should be a part of the Greek island and a part of Hellenism.

“They want to give us some rights claiming these are human rights, but these involve the majority ruling the minority, severing ties with Türkiye, terminating Türkiye’s rights as a guarantor and the Turkish army withdrawing from the island and in time the Greek-Greek Cypriot duo will dominate the island. We will never accept this” said Tatar.

Emphasizing that the Turkish Cypriots have the sovereignty rights inherited from the Lausanne Treaty, President Tatar said, “The greatest injustice carried out against the Turkish Cypriot people is the unilateral admission of the Greek Cypriot side which had voted against the Annan Plan to the European Union. The day you say yes to single sovereignty, you will lose everything.”

Tatar also noted that according to the Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus Turkish Cypriots are as equal as Greek Cypriots, no nation is superior to the other.

“We are as sovereign as the Greek Cypriots,” he said.

Also drawing attention to the fact that the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation will be celebrated next year, President Tatar said, “There is no change in their policy. 50 years have been lost on talks for a federation”.

Also noting that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Turkish government support the new policy put forward by the Turkish Cypriot side on Cyprus, President Tatar said that it is their aim to strengthen the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Referring to Turkish President Erdoğan’s call at the 2022 UN General Assembly that the time had come for the TRNC to be recognized, President Tatar said, “Many initiatives have been taken in order to gain status within the Organizations of Turkic states and carry out cooperation on many issues.”

“The more we are strengthened the more the world will accept us. Students from 144 countries come to our country to study. We carry out trade with foreign countries we have tourists visiting. Foreigners from all over the world buy property from our country” said Tatar adding that security and stability of the country are important for future investments.

“The Eastern Mediterranean is open to all kinds of danger. The Security Forces and the Turkish Armed Forces provide security in this region and I thank them for this” said Tatar.

The President said that he will continue to work to further strengthen the TRNC and bring it to a better position in the future.