Statement issued by Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu regarding the meeting that took place between US President Joe Biden and Greek Cypriot Administration Leader Nikos Christodoulides

Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu issued a statement regarding the recent meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Christodoulides, which was held at the White House on October 30, 2024. In his statement, Ertuğruloğlu expressed that Christodoulides, following his meeting with President Biden, reiterated his well-known, historically outdated claims.

We have been consistently pointing out that U.S. support for the Greek Cypriot Administration under the guise of a “strategic partnership” poses a threat to the already delicate balances in the region. Despite our repeated warnings, the overt support extended to the Greek Cypriot Administration aims at pressuring the Turkish Cypriot side into resuming nagotiations based on a model of federation, which the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has already withdrawn its consent to.

Recently, the U.S. has been encouraging individuals and delegations wishing to visit our country  not to use our airport and has even attempted to prevent visits altogether. Additionally, there has been increasing attempts in U.S. reports emphasizing the existence of a single legitimate state on the island. In short, the U.S.  is signaling it will further increase its support for the Greek Cypriot Administration in case the Turkish Cypriot side does not engage in federation talks.

The Greek Cypriot Administration has been exploiting the support of the U.S. Administration, creating the false perception that a so-called negotiation process on the Cyprus issue is underway. The international community and particularly the U.S. Administration overlook a crucial point; that the sole aim of the Greek Cypriot side is to entrap the Turkish Cypriot side indefinitely in a so-called negotiation process in order to maintain its international representation as the “sole legitimate representative” of the island and to perpetuate the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people indefinitely.

Emboldened by the support of the U.S., the Greek Cypriot Administration now arrogantly perceives itself as a regional actor in the Eastern Mediterranean even expressing itself as a replacement for Türkiye in the region. This impudent mentality that is mistaking its subordinate status for that of a principal actor, is now daring to compare the Greek Cypriot ‘micro state’ with the region’s sole actor, the Republic of Türkiye. It is imperative that the U.S. refrain from further encouraging such impudency.

No force can disregard the presence and rights of the Republic of Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot people in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is the only legitimate representative of the Turkish Cypriot people. It is essential that the international community stops ignoring the realities in Cyprus and stop treating the Greek Cypriot Administration as the “legitimate representative” which happens to be the essence of the Cyprus problem.  At this point, the idea of a solution based on federation or any form of partnership between the two sides in Cyprus is nothing more than a fantasy. The future of the island will be based on developing good neighborly relations between the two separate states.