Türkiye rejects UNSC's violation of Turkish Cypriots' sovereign equality

Türkiye has criticised a recent statement by the UN Security Council on Cyprus, saying it violated the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriots.

In a statement released on Thursday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said: "Detached from the realities on the ground, the UN Security Council continues to insist on a settlement model from which the Turkish Cypriot side has openly withdrawn its support and which has been tried and has failed many times."

"All parties should realise that a federal settlement goal no longer reflects the sovereign will of the Turkish Cypriot people."

Türkiye's statement was in response to the UN Security Council issuing a joint statement encouraging renewed engagement on the island in the aftermath of recent elections which ended with former foreign minister Nikos Christodoulides’ win.

Christodoulides had promised to resolve the deadlock in peace talks with Turkish Cypriots.

The UN's statement came after Secretary-General Antonio Guterres suggested that a significant step forward would be an agreement on an appointment of a UN envoy, who could explore ways to reach common ground toward resuming talks for a lasting settlement in Cyprus island.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said: "Instead of promoting a settlement in Cyprus, this Security Council stance, which is increasingly distant from the basis provided by the UN Secretary-General's reports, is fueling the Greek Cypriot side's intransigent attitude that disregards the Turkish Cypriots, the ancient and original co-owners of the Island."

"We expect the Security Council to comprehend that the Turkish Cypriots have withdrawn their support from the settlement model discussed in the past," the ministry added.

Türkiye reiterated that a just, lasting and sustainable settlement to be reached in Cyprus must reflect the will of the two peoples on the island and cannot be imposed by third parties.

"We call on the UN Security Council and the international community to take into account the fact that there are two separate peoples and two separate states on the Island of Cyprus and to reaffirm the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, namely their sovereign equality and equal international status."

"We underline that this is an indispensable precondition for the start of any new negotiation process towards the settlement of the Cyprus issue," the ministry said.

'Bizonal federation'

In its statement, the UN council called on all sides to show openness, flexibility, and compromise to return to formal negotiations to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement based on a "bicommunal, bizonal federation with political equality."

The Security Council urged both sides to seize this "window of opportunity" by taking tangible steps and implementing other goodwill gestures to promote a conducive climate.

Guterres said in the report that a peaceful and shared future on the divided island of Cyprus "truly remains possible" through meaningful and result-oriented negotiations.

He commended the governments of Greece and Türkiye for the positive shift in relations and urged the two leaders in Cyprus to re-engage in talks to resolve the decades-long dispute.

The underlying positions of the two sides of the peace process remained far apart. Still, Guterres said the first face-to-face meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar was a "positive step" in establishing a connection.

He encouraged both sides to take opportunities to build trust and good ties with meaningful initiatives.

'Exhausted formulas'

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) decried the statement, saying it violated the principle of impartiality.

"The statement by the UNSC, which serves the interests of the Greek Cypriot side, that contains impositions on the other side only through the views of one side, is against the principle of impartiality and is unacceptable for us," the TRNC Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The Greek side, benefiting from the continuation of the status quo on the island, has no intention of making any effort to reach an agreement.

"The Greek Cypriot side, which has rejected every opportunity to reach an agreement for 50 years, is now attempting to deceive the world by pretending to support the previously tried and exhausted formulas. The Greek Cypriot side is attempting to use the UNSC as a tool for this game," it added.

Despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement, Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Ethnic attacks 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 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.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a plan by former UN chief Kofi Annan to end the longstanding dispute.