Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed on Saturday his country’s readiness to negotiate and ensure peace in Cyprus, stressing that a federal solution is no longer possible on the island, which has been divided into two parts since 1974.
This came in a speech during an event marking the 50th anniversary of the military “peace process” in Cyprus.
Erdogan said: “No solution can be reached by ignoring the facts in Cyprus, and we believe that a federal solution is not possible on the island.”
He added, “We are ready for negotiations and meetings and to ensure lasting peace and a solution in Cyprus, and we do not ignore any efforts aimed at a solution on the island.”
He added, “The Turkish Cypriots and Turkey are the only two sides that have shown the will to reach a solution on the island and have made sacrifices and taken risks in order to do so.”
He continued, “I hope that we will see the days when the heads of the guarantor countries will visit both countries (in Cyprus) together.”
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In the same context, Erdogan confirmed that the Turkish army took a “historic step” on this day 50 years ago in order to “remove a dagger” that was targeting the independence of the Turkish Cypriots.
He added, “We then showed the whole world that Turkish Cypriots are not alone and will never be alone.”
Erdogan stressed that Turkey will maintain the atmosphere of peace and tranquility that it established in Cyprus 50 years ago and will not allow harm to be caused to it, stressing the continued Turkish support for Northern Cyprus.
On July 20, 1974, Turkey launched the “peace process” on the island after it witnessed a military coup led by Nikos Sampson against Cypriot President Makarios III on the 15th of the same month.
The coup took place with the support of the ruling military junta in Greece, while Romanian armed groups targeted the island’s Turkish residents.
The Turkish army began a second military operation on August 14, 1974, and both operations succeeded in achieving their goals, and a prisoner exchange agreement was concluded between the two sides on September 16 of the same year.
On February 13, 1975, the “Federal Turkish Cypriot State” was established in the northern part of the island, and the late Rauf Raif Denktaş was elected President of the Republic, which became known as the Turkish Republic of Cyprus.
