Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Mustafa Akıncı made a statement immediately following the trilateral video conference meeting of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of the European Council Charles Michel, where the decision was taken to start the exploratory talks between Greece and Turkey, and described the decision as an ‘extremely positive and gratifying development’

President Akıncı said in his statement  ‘As someone who has long advocated that the problems should be resolved through dialogue and negotiation, that the natural gas issue should not be a cause of tension and the Eastern Mediterranean should be transformed into a cooperation basin, I hope that this development will have beneficial results for the people of both countries and the peace in the region’.