The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Zorlu Töre has once again expressed his reaction to Greece’s recently increasing provocations.

“Despite the fact that some European countries or the US is spoiling Greece, it is not possible to take any action by ignoring or excluding Türkiye because of its geographical location and power,” he said.

In an interview to the Anadolu News Agency, the Speaker of the TRNC Parliament Zorlu Töre criticized Greece’s stance towards Türkiye in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.

He said that Greece and the Greek Cypriots were still pursuing the goals they had set out to achieve in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, Cyprus, Western Thrace and Anatolia.

Töre pointed out that Türkiye was far too strategically important and strong to be ignored by western powers despite their tolerance to Greece’s spoilt attitude.

“Let me point out that Türkiye which had no means of conducting its own surveys in the Eastern Mediterranean now has four drilling ships. The Greek Cypriots see themselves as the sole owners of Cyprus but the reality is that the TRNC has its own territorial waters and continental shelf,” he said.

Töre pointed out that it was not possible for energy resources discovered in the region to reach Europe with a formula that did not include Türkiye.

Regarding a settlement in Cyprus, the parliamentary speaker pointed out that efforts for achieving a federal settlement in Cyprus had failed because of the Greek Cypriot side’s refusal to share power and wealth with Turkish Cypriots.

“In any case, the 1960 Republic was a federation but the Greek Cypriots had seen it as a stepping stone to achieving their goal of uniting the island with Greece,” he added.

Töre highlighted the importance of the TRNC and the independence of the Turkish Cypriot people.

He expressed his belief that the TRNC will one day be recognised by other countries.