<\/p>\n
Speaking to Turkish media in Washington following his visit to the United States for the 80th UN General Assembly, Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu said decades of negotiations had failed to produce results and described the UN Security Council as \u201can organization that has stolen 60 years from the Turkish Cypriots.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recalled that President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan, in his address to the General Assembly, had once again called for the recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu emphasized that this stance was not rhetoric but a reflection of decisions already endorsed unanimously by the Turkish Parliament and reaffirmed by Turkey\u2019s National Security Council.<\/p>\n
Pointing to UN Security Council Resolution 186 of March 1964, which recognized the \u201cGovernment of Cyprus,\u201d Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cRauf Denkta\u015f spent decades negotiating a federation,\u201d Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu said. \u201cBut 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u2019s permanent members, that had buried any chance of federal settlement. \u201cFrom now on,\u201d he declared, \u201cthe future of the island lies in two sovereign, equal states building good neighborly relations and cooperating on mutually agreed issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu dismissed calls for a return to federation talks as \u201cunrealistic,\u201d recalling that the last attempt at Crans-Montana in 2017 collapsed over Greek Cypriot demands for \u201czero troops, zero guarantees.\u201d He added that even former President Mustafa Ak\u0131nc\u0131<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/a> described Crans-Montana as \u201cour generation\u2019s last attempt\u201d at federation.<\/p>\n Turning to the European Union, Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu condemned the bloc\u2019s acceptance of Greek Cypriot membership as a \u201cshameful decision,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n On security matters, Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu 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.<\/p>\n Concluding, Ertu\u011frulo\u011flu reiterated that the Cyprus problem is not unresolved but already has a solution: \u201cThere are two states on the island. That is the reality, and that is the only viable settlement.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n