The Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces General Metin Gürak who was in the TRNC for a day visit was received by President Ersin Tatar on Sunday.
The latest developments on the Cyprus issue, the Eastern Mediterranean, the events in Pile, the embargoes imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people as well as ongoing efforts for the recognition of the TRNC were discussed during the meeting.
Speaking during the meeting, President Tatar pointed to the significance of General Metin Gürak’s first visit to the TRNC after becoming the Chief of the General Staff, particularly as celebrations were underway to mark August 30th Victory Day.
He said that the Republic of Türkiye had exercised its guarantor rights in Cyprus for the first time with an air operation during the Erenköy Resistance in 1964.
He also emphasized that the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation was a turning point.
Touching on the reaction shown by the United Nations regarding the Pile-Yiğitler Road project in the TRNC, President Tatar questioned, “Where was the United Nations when Pilot Cengiz Topel was killed and when massacres were committed against Turkish Cypriots in the villages?”
He repeated that the Pile-Yiğitler road was being expanded and repaired solely for humanitarian purposes.
Tatar noted that the Greek Cypriots had carried out similar work in the UN controlled buffer zone in the past and that the objections and obstacles created for Turkish Cypriots who want to carry out similar projects was unacceptable.
“What we see here is an issue of double standards and unfair treatment,” he added.
Tatar also argued that the goal of the Greek Cypriot side was to reduce the Turkish Cypriot population in Pile and turn it from a mixed village to an entirely Greek Cypriot village.
Regarding the status of the TRNC in the Eastern Mediterranean, President Tatar said that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus had seen a rise in its status due to the Blue Homeland policy, oil, natural gas, and other security issues as well as the TRNC’s observer status in the Organisation of Turkic States.
He also expressed his happiness and confidence over the harmony that existed between the TRNC and Türkiye on the Cyprus issue.
Stressing the importance of sitting at the negotiation table with the acceptance of sovereign equality and equal international status, the president pointed out that in previous negotiations for a federal-based solution, concessions were made and even maps were given to the Greek Cypriots.
General Metin Gürak, for his part said that Cyprus was a national cause for Türkiye, expressing that they are always on the side of the Turkish Cypriot people and will continue to support their just cause.
General Gürak stated that the biased attitude of the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP) on the humanitarian road construction efforts in Pile was unacceptable according to the principle of neutrality.
He also strongly condemned the heinous attack on the Köprülü Hacı İbrahim Ağa Mosque in Limassol.