Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has said that it did not come as a surprise that the Greek Cypriot administration which had made it its goal to violate the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people was disturbed by the anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

“The Greek Cypriot administration needs to come to terms with the fact that the existence and establishment of the TRNC will be celebrated forever,” he said in a written statement on Wednesday.

Condemning the latest statement by the Greek Cypriot administration issued on the anniversary of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said that the Greek Cypriot side’s reaction had not come as a surprise, particularly in light of the fact that it had made its sole purpose to violate and infringe on the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people through embargoes and isolation policies.

“Contrary to the Greek Cypriot Foreign Ministry’s views, the Turkish Cypriot people are not a minority but an honourable people who have succeeded in exercising self-determination and establishing their own state. We advise that the Greek Cypriot administration comes to terms with and accepts the fact that the existence and establishment of the TRNC will be celebrated forever,” he said.

Ertuğruoğlu also reminded that the Turkish Cypriot side had adopted a new vision and policy on the Cyprus Problem, one based on two sovereign and separate states that cooperate and co-exist side-by-side.

He pointed out that Ankara fully supported this new policy.

The TRNC foreign minister also said that the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) needed to accept a legal framework for operating within the boundaries of the TRNC.

On the issue of Maraş, Ertuğruoğlu once again stressed that the fenced-off town was TRNC territory and that the TRNC government was the sole authority to decide on matters relating to the closed city.