President Ersin Tatar said on Thursday that one tiny mistake could turn Cyprus into a new Gaza.

Speaking in an interview with The Telegraph newspaper Tatar said that Türkiye will not accept a one-state solution for Cyprus and a “little flare-up” on the divided island could spark a conflict similar to those in Gaza and Ukraine.

“A mistake or misunderstanding such as the shooting of a Turkish soldier on the Green Line that divides the two sides would provoke “a bomb” between the two populations, who have been at loggerheads for decades,” said Tatar.

He said that everybody should be calm and reasonable and that Turkish Cypriots were not alone.

“We have got 85 million Turks behind us and they are just 40 miles away. “A little flare-up, that is what people are fearing. Look at what happened in Gaza. And before that, Ukraine. Before that, Bosnia.”

Tatar also dismissed efforts to reach a federal settlement on the island describing such attempts as a “waste of time”.

“That’s all past. All those opportunities have been exhausted,” he said. “How can you unite an island like this after so many years? You cannot possibly unite Cyprus. You have to face the facts and accept reality.”

He reiterated that the only option in Cyprus is a two-state solution in which TRNC is accepted as an independent state.

“Since 1974 we have had two states, two regions, two sovereign powers in Cyprus living side by side, coexisting. The only way forward is a two-state solution,” he said.

“Recognition might take time but as time goes by, we consolidate more.”

He suggested that Azerbaijan, Pakistan and Bangladesh may soon recognise the TRNC as an independent country. “We don’t want a clash and they [Greek Cypriots] shouldn’t want a clash,” said Mr Tatar.

“They have five million tourists visiting them each year, especially from the UK. If there is a bomb going off – pop! – not one tourist will come. They will go bankrupt.”

Meanwhile, James Ker-Lindsay, a British expert on Cyprus from the London School of Economics, whose views were also included in the interview argued that a federal, unified state remains the only viable solution for Cyprus and that the chances of the TRNC being recognised as an independent country by the rest of the world are zero.

“It’s not going to happen. In the context of everything we are seeing in Ukraine, the EU and US will not want to be seen to legitimise territorial changes that took place as a result of military action.”