Erdogan to UN: Federation in Cyprus has lost its validity

The federal model for a solution to the Cyprus problem has “completely lost its validity”, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

Erdogan was the third speaker at the event and said in his speech that there are “two separate states and two separate peoples on the island” of Cyprus, and that “the acquired rights of the Turkish Cypriots, namely sovereign equality and their equal international status, must be re-committed, and their isolation must end.”

Then, for the second year running, he called on the UN’s member states to recognise the north as an independent country.

“Today, I call on you, the international community, once again, to recognise the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and establish diplomatic, political, and social relations with it,” he said.

Delving into the history of the island, he said it has been “50 years since the Cyprus peace operation and 61 years since the Cyprus problem emerged, as a result of the Greek Cypriots usurping the partnership state,” referring to the collapse of the constitutionally mandated bicommunal Cypriot government in 1963.

He said “peace and tranquillity have prevailed” since Turkey invaded the island in 1974, and that in the intervening 50 years, “the parties which have demonstrated a sincere will to bring about a just, permanent, and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem have always been the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey.”

He also briefly spoke about Turkey’s maritime claims in the Eastern Mediterranean, saying the country’s “role” as “the country with the longest coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean” is “undeniable”.

“Turkey has rights in its declared continental shelf to the north and west of the island of Cyprus, while the Turkish Cypriots have rights around the entire island,” he said.

After his speech, Erdogan held a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with Mitsotakis in high spirits ahead of the meeting.

He told Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, “I like your blue tie”, with Fidan also in attendance at the meeting alongside his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis.

Greek newspaper To Vima reported on Tuesday evening that sources from inside the Greek government had said, “the Greek side will always put the Cyprus issue on the table”.

“Athens is modestly optimistic about the resumption of talks on the Cyprus problem and fully supports [UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’] efforts to hold a tripartite meeting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot sides,” the sources added.

Erdogan met Guterres later on Tuesday evening. The meeting was closed to the press.

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides is set to address the general assembly on Wednesday, while Mitsotakis and Sir Keir Starmer, prime minister of Cyprus’ third guarantor power the United Kingdom, are both due to give their speeches on Friday.