Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu evaluated Turkey’s 2021 foreign policy by drawing attention to the tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean that were caused by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration.

Çavuşoğlu said, “We have defended the legitimate rights and interests of our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. In 2021, Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration tried to send third country research ships to our continental shelf 7 times. We prevented all of them with our diplomatic initiatives and our presence on the ground when necessary”.

“We brought the vision of a two-state solution based on sovereign equality and equal international status to the world’s agenda. We also broke the mould with the Maraş opening. We placed on record our rightful policy with the TRNC in the informal meetings in Geneva. We did not tolerate hostile steps directed at our country from Greece,” said Çavuşoğlu.

He also said that as a result of the efforts made to increase the visibility and recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the international arena, the TRNC gained status in many international organizations and opened representative offices in many countries.

Noting that the Greek Cypriot side has not desired a solution for the past 53 years, Çavuşoğlu said that the reason the Greek Cypriot side does not desire a solution is because it does not want to share anything with the Turkish Cypriot side.

“If they wanted a solution they would not have destroyed the 1960 partnership. They see the Turkish Cypriot people as a minority. That’s why we are saying a solution based on sovereign equality must be sought” said Çavuşoğlu.

Stating that there is no point in holding fruitless talks and that there is no mechanism to guarantee the rights of the Turkish Cypriots in case the Greek Cypriot side destroys the negotiating table, Çavuşoğlu said, “if there are people in the TRNC who support this unjust approach, we are very sorry but they must give priority to the rights and interests of the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriot people.”

Explaining that another 53 years will not be wasted with talks on a federation, Çavuşoğlu stated that other countries also supported the idea of ​​a two-state solution on the basis of sovereign equality in Cyprus.