Ertuğruloğlu stressed that they want Israel to treat both sides equally on the Cyprus issue

Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu attended a live broadcast on Israeli state television and stressed that they want Israel to treat both sides equally on the Cyprus issue. Ertuğruloğlu attended “The World Today” program on channel KAN 11 and answered questions regarding the Cyprus problem, the importance of motherland Turkey’s support and relations with the Israeli government.

Mentioning that the Cyprus issue is a national cause for the Turkish nation, Minister Ertuğruloğlu stressed that they defend the Cyprus issue with Turkey and wanted the Israeli government to treat to both sides equally on the Cyprus issue. Upon a question whether a united Cyprus goal has been ended or not, Ertuğruloğlu said that there is only one reason of the deadlock continuing for 50 years. “The negotiations were between two unequal sides. While the Greeks Cypriots are treated as the so-called Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriots are treated on a different status than they should be.” Ertuğruloğlu emphasised.

Furthermore, pointing out that it should be remembered that the Turkish Cypriot side and the Greek Cypriot side were two equal political partners of the 1960 Cyprus Republic, Ertuğruloğlu reminded that the relationship between the Turkish Cypriot side and the Greek Cypriot side was established on the basis of political equality and that this relationship was not a minority-majority relationship. Minister Ertuğruloğlu also stressed that the legitimacy of the 1960 Republic is based on the continuation of the relationship between two political equal partners.

Ertuğruloğlu said, “Neither the Greek Cypriot side nor the Turkish Cypriot side can claim that they are the only legal representative of the 1960 Republic of Cyprus by excluding the other partner, but that’s exactly what has happened”.

During the interview, upon a question regarding the presence of the flags of Turkey and the TRNC at Ertuğruloğlu’s office and why Ankara’s support is important for them, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu mentioned that the Cyprus problem is being evaluated together with Turkey due to the fact that it is not only the national cause of the Turkish Cypriots but it is also the national cause of the Turkish nation.

Ertuğruloğlu said “We assess the Cyprus problem with motherland Turkey and are continuing with their support.”

Upon a question regarding how he foresees the relationship between the TRNC government and the Israeli government in the future, Ertuğruloğlu emphasised that they want to have good relations with the Israeli government.

Stating that they wish for a better relationship between the TRNC government and the Israeli government, Ertuğruloğlu said that he visited Israel several times and that Israel is an important and special country not only for the Turkish Cypriots but also for the whole Middle East and the international community.

Emphasising that they expect Israel to treat both sides equally in the Cyprus problem, Ertuğruloğlu concluded as follows:

“You asked about the future of the Cyprus problem. The truth is that this depends on the international community correcting its past mistake and treating the two partners on the island equally. In addition, as long as the insistence on referring to the Greek Cypriot side as the so-called “Republic of Cyprus” and the Turkish Cypriot side as the so-called “separatist ethnic group” continues, reaching a solution will not be possible at the negotiations, it is this inequality that prevents a solution in Cyprus.

In this context, our expectation from the State of Israel is not treating one of the former partners in Cyprus as a “state” and the other one as a “society”, but rather treating both of them equally.”