Turkish Cypriot will not become a minority to the Greek Cypriot side - Akinci

The President of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), Mustafa Akıncı has said that the Turkish Cypriot people are not ready to become a minority in the Greek Cypriot republic.

Akinci made the remark during an event he attended on Sunday and according to him, the Turkish Cypriot people desire a settlement that safeguards its equality, freedom and security, adding that this did not mean accepting a settlement at all costs.

Stating that the Turkish Cypriot people has not abandoned its solution oriented policies, Akıncı said;

There were times in Cyprus during which we fought…we were not responsible for starting any of those fights.

He noted that the root cause of the Cyprus Problem was the Greek Cypriots’ aspiration to achieve ENOSİS or union with Greece but said the Turkish Cypriot people desire nothing more than living and existing as a politically equal community on the island. “We have no quarrels with others’ rights”, he added.

He said due to the fact that the Greek Cypriot side had gone into election mode, everything could start from the beginning again.

We are going through an important phase. The Greek Cypriot side could experience a transformation of mentality and I hope it does..it looks very difficult at the moment. You could see someone we have never heard of being elected… then we could re-evaluate the situation, said Akinci.

He however pointed out that no one should expect or think that the Turkish Cypriot people will become a minority within the Greek Cypriot republic.

Source: BRT