Erdoğan: No Cyprus solution possible without accepting Turkish positions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has asserted that any progress on the Cyprus issue is contingent upon the acceptance of Turkey's stance, particularly regarding the rights of Turkish Cypriots. Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara, Erdoğan stated that Turkey is closely monitoring groups attempting to exploit regional tensions and use Cyprus for new military and geopolitical calculations.

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no solution to the Cyprus issue can proceed without the acceptance of Turkish positions.

Erdoğan stressed that the Cyprus question is more than just a technical discussion about administrative responsibilities between the two communities. He framed it as a matter of recognizing the "sovereign equality and equal international status" of the Turkish Cypriot people. This perspective underscores Ankara's long-held position that the Turkish Cypriots are not a minority but a co-founding nation with inherent rights.

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the Cyprus issue transcends the framework of a technical discussion for the distribution of administrative responsibilities between the two communities and concerns the recognition of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people.

The Turkish leader reiterated Ankara's view that no resolution process can move forward without acknowledging these Turkish positions. He warned that initiatives which disregard the "sovereign equality, inherent rights, and legitimate interests" of Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean are destined to fail. Erdoğan pointed to past attempts to resolve the issue that he claimed aimed to marginalize the Turkish Cypriot population, stating these had previously failed.

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no initiative that ignores the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriots, their inherent rights, and their legitimate interests in the Eastern Mediterranean can lead to success.

According to Erdoğan, peace on the island can only be achieved through a "just, permanent, and sustainable solution." This implies a solution that recognizes the political equality and distinct identity of the Turkish Cypriot community, a condition that has historically been a major sticking point in reunification efforts.

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it is known to all that solutions aimed at condemning the Turkish population of Cyprus to minority status have failed in the past. Calm on the island can only be achieved with a just, permanent, and sustainable solution.