Minister Ertuğruloğlu stated that the remarks of Nikos Christodoulides are ideas detached from reality that do not accord with historical facts

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu:

“The recent statements by Greek Cypriot Administration leader Nikos Christodoulides, which target the presence of Turkish troops on the island and portray it as the sole obstacle to a solution, are detached from and inconsistent with historical realities.

We reject categorically the unfounded statements made by Nikos Christodoulides targeting the presence of Turkish troops on the island, which aims at misleading the Greek Cypriot people and the international community. This approach is yet another manifestation of the Greek Cypriot leadership’s longstanding uncompromising stance.

The only viable path to a sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue lies in the recognition of the sovereign equality of the two existing states on the island and the international affirmation of the equal status of the Turkish Cypriot people.

It is a waste of time to pursue political gains through models that belong to a past era, outlived their usefulness, and whose failure has already been proven.

Whether Greek Cypriot people accept it or not, the presence of Turkish troops on the island is non-negotiable. The heroic Turkish Armed Forces are the sole guarantor of the existence and security of the Turkish Cypriot people, as well as the peace on the island.

We call on the Greek Cypriot leadership to refrain from its efforts to mislead the international community and to tell the truth to its own people. Peace in Cyprus can only be built on existing realities, and those realities are the existence of two sovereign equal states.

As the Turkish Cypriot side, we remain determined to move forward on the basis of a framework where the realities on the island are acknowledged, without compromising our rights or our security.

The Greek Cypriot leadership must move beyond outdated unrealistic aspirations and acknowledge that the key to a solution does not lie in the withdrawal of Turkish troops, but in respecting the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriot people.