EU's 'disregard for realities' on Cyprus hinders solution: Türkiye

Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has criticised European Parliament (EP) President Roberta Metsola's speech at the General Assembly prior to her re-election.

The EU's "disregard for realities" on the island of Cyprus "constitute an obstacle to the formation of a new ground for the solution of the problems," Kurtulmus said in a letter to Metsola, diplomatic sources reported on Friday.

While congratulating Metsola on her re-election, Kurtulmus noted that he regrets the EP president's statements in the context of the Cyprus issue.

"For the settlement of the Cyprus issue, it is important that all parties direct their efforts in the right direction and sincerely contribute to a solution," he wrote, criticising "the EU's unilateral approach to the Cyprus issue under the name of membership solidarity".

Kurtulmus further pointed out that Metsola, in her speech to the General Assembly, did not refer to Türkiye's status as a candidate country.

Türkiye's candidate status

Expressing hope that Türkiye-EU relations will be further strengthened, Kurtulmus said he believes that the EP can play a constructive role in overcoming prejudices and building mutual trust with an objective and rational attitude in the new legislative period.

"In the coming period, we expect all EU institutions, including the EP, to conduct their relations with Türkiye with a fair and result-oriented approach ... and to avoid policies and discourses that put our relations at an impasse," Kurtulmus stated.

Türkiye applied for EU membership in 1987 and has been a candidate country since 1999. Membership negotiations started in 2005 but entered into a stalemate after 2007 due to the Cyprus issue and opposition by several member states.

Cyprus Peace Operation

The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.

July 20, the anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation of 1974, is celebrated yearly in the TRNC as Peace and Freedom Day.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, and the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

Türkiye and TRNC fully support a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus based on sovereign equality and equal international status.