Speaking to Turkish media in Washington following his visit to the United States for the 80th UN General Assembly, Ertuğruloğlu said decades of negotiations had failed to produce results and described the UN Security Council as “an organization that has stolen 60 years from the Turkish Cypriots.”
He recalled that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in his address to the General Assembly, had once again called for the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Ertuğruloğlu emphasized that this stance was not rhetoric but a reflection of decisions already endorsed unanimously by the Turkish Parliament and reaffirmed by Turkey’s National Security Council.
Pointing to UN Security Council Resolution 186 of March 1964, which recognized the “Government of Cyprus,” Ertuğruloğlu said this historical mistake laid the foundations of the Cyprus problem and entrenched international recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration as the sole authority on the island.
“Rauf Denktaş spent decades negotiating a federation,” Ertuğruloğlu said. “But the Greek Cypriot side never once showed genuine willingness to share power in a federal partnership. They came to the table only to avoid being blamed for walking away, while sabotaging every opportunity for compromise.”
He insisted that the partnership between the two communities had long since ended and that it was the Greek Cypriot side, emboldened by the Security Council’s permanent members, that had buried any chance of federal settlement. “From now on,” he declared, “the future of the island lies in two sovereign, equal states building good neighborly relations and cooperating on mutually agreed issues.”
Ertuğruloğlu dismissed calls for a return to federation talks as “unrealistic,” recalling that the last attempt at Crans-Montana in 2017 collapsed over Greek Cypriot demands for “zero troops, zero guarantees.” He added that even former President Mustafa Akıncı described Crans-Montana as “our generation’s last attempt” at federation.
Turning to the European Union, Ertuğruloğlu condemned the bloc’s acceptance of Greek Cypriot membership as a “shameful decision,” arguing that the EU has since used its economic and political leverage against Turkey and the TRNC. He accused the EU and Western powers of rewarding the Greek Cypriots while punishing the Turkish Cypriots.
On security matters, Ertuğruloğlu underlined that the presence of Turkish troops in the TRNC remains the ultimate deterrent against any military threat. He warned against increasing military cooperation between the Greek Cypriot administration, Israel, and the United States, which recently lifted its arms embargo on the south, and criticized France and the UK for siding with Nicosia.
Concluding, Ertuğruloğlu reiterated that the Cyprus problem is not unresolved but already has a solution: “There are two states on the island. That is the reality, and that is the only viable settlement.”
