TRNC determined to take steps for its recognition - Foreign Minister

TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has said the TRNC was waging a struggle for independence and sovereignty.

Ertuğruloğlu made the statement in an exclusive interview with Turkey’s Milliyet Newspaper on Monday.  

The Minister said the two-state solution model based on sovereign equality tabled by the Turkish Cypriot side in Geneva was put on record by the UN.

Pointing out that the Turkish Cypriot side had returned happy from Geneva after getting what it wanted, the TRNC Foreign Minister said that the Greek Cypriot side’s positions were well known and that what needed to be really criticized was the international community’s policies on Cyprus Issue.

Noting that the UN Secretary-General was considering holding another 5+1 meeting in a few months time, Ertuğruloğlu said the Turkish side was not opposed to such a meeting.

It was the Greek side which rejected such a meeting and who set preconditions for this. They said they would not attend another 5+1 meeting if the Turkish side made any new moves on the issues of Maraş or hydrocarbon exploration. Once again, the Greek Cypriot side is acting like a spoilt child who lost its toy, he said.

Reiterating the TRNC’s desire to be granted international recognition, Ertuğruloğlu said that the TRNC was determined in taking steps in that direction should the international community reject this justified demand.

What we want from the UN Security Council (UNSC) is to ensure the equal international status of the two sides. This is how the EU gets involved in the issue. We cannot continue from where we left off in Crans Montana, he said, adding that the time to hold talks for a federation was over.

The only way is to open a new page, Ertuğruloğlu stressed.

Commenting on the claims that the UK was considering recognizing the TRNC, Ertuğruloğlu said the UK had played a major part in making the Cyprus Issue so complex.