The Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said on Tuesday that the call made by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was of great significance.

He said that the remarks made by Erdoğan were most welcomed in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Ertuğruloğlu also said that the Council of Europe’s decision concerning the Loizidou case was a heavy blow to the Greek Cypriots.

Evaluating his latest contacts in New York and Washington D.C. during a press conference in the US capital, Foreign Minister said that the call made by the Turkish president during his address to the UN General Assembly for the international recognition of the TRNC was a cause of celebration, particularly to those who strongly supported the state.

Ertuğruloğlu expressed the view that the Cyprus Issue could only be solved by establishing a balance between the statuses of the two sides on the island.

“The Cyprus Issue will continue to remain on the agenda of the international community as long as one of the sides on the island is treated as a state and the other a community,” he said, adding that the current UN parameters and resolutions guaranteed the non-solution of the Cyprus Problem.

The TRNC foreign minister said that those responsible for creating the Cyprus Problem were also the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and that these countries had their own interests and plans in the region.

He also said that the TRNC did not have the luxury to turn its back on the international community which was why they were holding contacts in New York and Washington every year.

Ertuğruloğlu pointed out that they had also discussed the UN’s operations in Cyprus with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as well as the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean Pierre Lacroix.

He said that the Turkish Cypriot side had presented Lacroix with a draft of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) they had prepared and were waiting for a reply.

“We will decide on our next move according to the UN’s response,” said Ertuğruloğlu, pointing out that the Greek Cypriot authorities had no jurisdiction in the TRNC which was why they could not be the one to give approval of UN operations in the north.

He said the Turkish Cypriot side, which had adopted a two-state policy, was no longer willing to extend its hospitality and was insisting on the signing of a separate agreement.

Also touching upon the US’ decision to lift the arms sales embargo on the Greek Cypriot side, Ertuğruloğlu said that they had discussed the matter with their US counterparts.

“The Turkish Cypriot side sees this move as a serious continuation of a policy that serves to pamper the Greek and Greek Cypriots. Such moves did not serve the climate of good will, peace and stability in the region that was aimed. We will be left with no choice but to take reciprocal moves,” he said.

Ertuğruloğlu also said that the excuse of Russia for the remove of the sales embargo was not convincing.

Regarding the Council of Europe’s decision to close the Loizidou case, the TRNC foreign minister said that this was a great success for the Turkish Cypriot side and a serious failure for the Greek Cypriots.