President Ersin Tatar has said that no one could question Türkiye’s rights or presence in Cyprus as a guarantor power.

Participating in a panel discussion held at Bilkent University within the framework of his contacts in Türkiye, Tatar stated that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would never relinquish Türkiye’s guarantees.

President Ersin Tatar on Wednesday attended a panel discussion titled “Peace at Home, Peace in the World: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” organized by the Atatürkist Thought Group and the Nationalist Thought Group at Bilkent University.

Speaking on the Cyprus issue, Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot people had never accepted British or Greek Cypriot domination and had persevered without ever giving in, defending the Turkish presence on the island through the efforts of its freedom fighters and later the Turkish Armed Forces, despite attacks and massacres.

He reminded that the Greek Cypriots had been allowed to join the European Union despite having rejected the Annan Plan while the Turkish Cypriot people were condemned to continue living under isolation.

Touching upon the latest policy of the Turkish Cypriot side, President Ersin Tatar said that the two-state policy based on sovereign equality had been formulated jointly with Türkiye and was in full harmony with Ankara.

He added that a partnership federal settlement in Cyprus was no longer possible because Türkiye was not part of the EU.

Tatar also said that Turkish Cypriots would never accept a process in which the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus would be dissolved.

Pointing out that no one had the right to question Türkiye’s presence on the island or it’s exercising of its rights as a guarantor power, Tatar said that the TRNC will never give up on Türkiye’s active and effective guarantees.

He said that even though they were not recognized as the TRNC, they never gave up the struggle and continued because they had a great state like the Republic of Türkiye on their side.