TRNC premier meets Turkish foreign minister in Ankara

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Prime Minister Unal Ustel in Ankara on Friday, with the two officials discussing recent European Union moves on Cyprus and the island's longstanding political status, according to the Foreign Ministry. No further details of the meeting were immediately disclosed.

The meeting followed a statement by the TRNC on Thursday rejecting the EU's appointment of a representative for Cyprus at the request of the Greek Cypriot administration. Ankara said the move carried no legitimacy and noted that the EU lost its impartiality on the Cyprus issue when it admitted the Greek Cypriot Administration as a member in 2004 while disregarding the will of the Turkish Cypriot people.

Sovereign equality stance

Ustel last week welcomed Fidan's stance during talks with the UN secretary-general's personal envoy on Cyprus. "No approach that does not recognize the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, namely their sovereign equality and equal international status, will serve a solution," he said, referring to the foreign minister's remarks and adding that this position reflected not only Türkiye's unwavering stance but also the unchanging will of the Turkish Cypriot people.

Recalling that the Turkish Cypriot people were equal founding partners of the 1960 Republic, Ustel stressed that no approach aimed at reducing Turkish Cypriots to minority status by ignoring this historical and legal reality would be accepted. The Turkish Cypriot leader has consistently demanded international recognition of the TRNC's sovereign equality in any renewed negotiation process.