Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz on Thursday night made his third visit to Cyprus since the start of August and reiterated his and his government’s demand for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem.
“The solution objective, based on the existence of two separate states with equal sovereignty, offers a vision compatible with the will of the Turkish Cypriots. As the motherland and guarantor power, Turkey is working resolutely and will continue to work to ensure that the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people are confirmed by the international community,” he said.
He was speaking at Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar’s official residence in the northern sector of Ayios Dhometios ahead of the first screening of a new documentary about the history of Cyprus, which has been released by Turkish public broadcaster TRT.
On this matter, he said that “the epic of freedom written in the blood and the lives of the Turkish Cypriot freedom fighters remains vivid in our memories”, before later returning to the matter of the Cyprus problem.
“The Turkish Cypriot people are currently involved in the decision-making mechanisms which shape the common future of the Turkic world, and their influence in political and diplomatic processes is increasing day by day,” he said.
He then added that “the rising success rate of Turkish Cypriots in industry, economy, and trade, as in every field, makes the realities pointed out by President Tatar’s vision for a two-state solution more evident”.
“We see that the same mindset, unable to stomach these realities and successes and which has been trying to intimidate Turkish Cypriots with inhumane embargoes for decades, is now confronting us with additional hostile means,” he said.
He went on to speak of the north’s status as an observer of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS), saying that this “has added institutional depth to this historic process”, and that “the relations established by the TRNC with the Turkic world have entered a new phase”.
Yilmaz’s visit to the island and statement of support for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem comes with a little over a week to go until the Turkish Cypriot leadership election, which is set to take place on October 19.
In that election, Tatar will be challenged by opposition-backed candidate Tufan Erhurman, who advocates for a return to negotiations based on a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
However, the Turkish government has made no secret of which of the two candidates it would prefer to see elected, with a wave of officials from Turkey having visited the island in the runup to the election.
Aside from Yilmaz, who during his previous visit made a speech at a Tatar campaign stop and was joined there by Turkish ambassador in Nicosia Ali Murat Basceri, former interior minister Suleyman Soylu, former defence minister Hulusi Akar, opposition Zafer Party leader Umit Ozdag, and former footballer Mesut Ozil have all visited the island in recent weeks to declare their support for Ersin Tatar.
Meanwhile, newspaper Kibris, which has been under Turkish ownership since 2022, published a poll which placed Tatar ahead in the race which was later declared “misleading” by the Turkish Cypriot media ethics board.
Prior to that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ruled out any return to negotiations towards a federal solution to the Cyprus problem, regardless of who wins next month’s Turkish Cypriot leadership election.
“The matter of federation is now closed for us. No one can draw us back into talks for a federation with wordplay. Turkish Cypriots will never accept being a minority on the island. The only realistic solution is to accept the existence of two states on the island,” he said.
These actions have drawn reactions from both Cyprus and Turkey, with Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor Mehmet Harmanci having described Ozil’s visit as “interference”, and described Ozil himself as a “model for the government’s public relations agency”.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Ozgur Ozel, the leader of Turkey’s largest opposition political party the CHP, said his country must respect the will of the Turkish Cypriot people ahead of next week’s election.
“As elections approach, the CHP respectfully salutes the will of the Turkish Cypriot community and their fight for existence to protect this will, regardless of political affiliation,” he said.
“Our party calls on all individuals and institutions in our country to respect the will of the Turkish Cypriot people and to be diligent in ensuring that this will is duly respected.”
