Captain Topel’s plane was shot down on August 8, 1964 during a mission to support Turkish Cypriots against Greek aggression on the island.
Ankara’s leadership has shown prudence and deft diplomacy in sidestepping Athens’ provocations. It’s now time for the Mitsotakis government to adopt a pacifist agenda.
In an exclusive interview with TRT World, TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu said the global body’s biased actions have made it impossible to find a negotiated settlement.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has lost faith in the one-state solution as Greek Cypriots refuse to treat the Turkish Cypriots as equal partners, says Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu.
Athens has long harboured ambitions to make Cyprus part of the Greek territory like Crete and other islands in the Aegean Sea, causing obstacles to resolving old territorial issues with Ankara, according to experts.
Türkiye's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar stressed that the country "prevented a massacre" in its 1974 peace operation after a Greek lawmaker accused Ankara of occupying the northern part of Cyprus.
Ersin Tatar, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, rejects any status for Turkish Cypriots under the so-called "Republic of Cyprus", saying a two-state solution is the only viable option to settle the decades-old dispute.
While the international community advocates a one-state solution, some experts believe that it might not be feasible in the island of Cyprus anymore.
President Ersin Tatar said it has become inevitable for Turkish Cypriots to maintain their sovereign rights on the island, adding it is no longer possible to agree on a federal structure for Cyprus.
Turkish Cypriot President Tatar says official talks on future of Cyprus meaningless without recognition of equality of both sides as sovereign states, with Greek Cypriots wanting a bizonal, bi-communal federation with political equality.
At the UN-led meeting, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Ankara supports a two-state solution to the island with a sustainable settlement only achievable based on ground realities.
Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw also urged London to open direct flights from the UK to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as a step towards normalisation.
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