President Ersin Tatar on Tuesday said that the Turkish Cypriot side was determined to pursue its two-state policy in Cyprus which was fully supported by Ankara.

Tatar was speaking during a visit paid to him by a delegation from the Turkish Journalists Association led by Yusuf Kanlı, which is in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for a series of contacts.

Welcoming the delegation, President Ersin Tatar said that the Turkish Cypriot side has been advocating for a two-state solution in Cyprus for the past three years in full harmony with Ankara.

He pointed out that Turkish Cypriots, just like the Greek Cypriots had sovereign rights over Cyprus.

Tatar added that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was just as much a state as was the Greek Cypriot administration.

The president also pointed out that Turkish Cypriots were still being punished by the international community despite having voted in favour of the UN sponsored Annan Plan in 2004.

“The Greek Cypriots, who overwhelmingly rejected the plan, were unilaterally admitted into the EU which has further complicated the solution of the Cyprus problem,” Tatar said, adding that the exclusion of Türkiye from the EU had shifted the balance against Turkish Cypriots.

“If we do end up reaching a federal settlement, and Cyprus becomes entirely an EU state, then there will be no borders and Türkiye will have to completely withdraw from the island. This will allow Greek Cypriots to exert complete authority over the north thus spelling the end of Turkish Cypriots,” the president warned.

Tatar also said that despite the fact that the TRNC was not recognized internationally, its existence was still acknowledged by international actors.

“Looking at where this Turkish state in the Eastern Mediterranean has come to at the moment, with its democracy, culture, institutions, and the relations it has established with its motherland Türkiye, with the observer membership it has gained in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the trade relations we have with more than a hundred countries, the number of tourists from many countries, and the students coming from more than 144 countries, all these are proof of the TRNC’s success.”