2-state cooperation needed for peace on Cyprus: Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus president

Any new agreement for peace and stability on Cyprus can only be reached with the cooperation of both states on the island, said the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) president on Wednesday.

The Cyprus cause is driven by spirit, belief, and love, Ersin Tatar told a symposium on late Turkish Cypriot statesman Fazil Kucuk in Lefkosa, the TRNC's capital.

Tatar highlighted Kucuk's dedication to the people's cause and said that in 1942, he laid the foundation for the policy of there being a "separate people" on Cyprus.

Tatar highlighted the fight to protect Turkish Cypriot rights and sovereignty, stressing the importance of the 1960 agreement for the island – which established Türkiye as a guarantor power – and Kucuk's role in securing their recognition as a sovereign people.

The TRNC is fighting for a legitimate sovereignty-based agreement to protect Turkish Cypriot rights and interests, said Tatar.

On a meeting on Cyprus in Geneva set to be hosted by UN Secretary-General Antonio next week, he said, referring to the 1974 Turkish Peace Operation on Cyprus: “If something is to be done in Geneva for the continuation of peace, security, and stability in the wake of 1974, a new agreement can only be reached with the cooperation of the two states (on the island).”

The symposium was organized by Türkiye's Baskent University, the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), and the Dr. Fazil Kucuk Foundation.

Kucuk served as vice president of the Republic of Cyprus from 1960 to 1973, and passed away in 1984.

- Decades-long Cyprus problem

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration entered the EU in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.