ANKARA

The president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) criticized the European Commission head for not mentioning Turkish Cypriots in her speech at the opening ceremony of the Greek Cypriot Administration EU Council Presidency.

“The Turkish Cypriot people have been on this island, are here now, and here they will remain,” Tufan Erhurman said in a statement on Thursday.

Erhurman said he reviewed European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's speech delivered on Wednesday and noted that it did not include a single reference to “Turkish Cypriots.”

He criticized a passage describing innovators in artificial intelligence as developing technologies “in the shadow of Byzantine churches,” saying it painted the island’s history as if it has solely been under Byzantine Empire rule.

Stressing that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus does not try to ignore such issues to avoid harming relations, Erhurman added: “For us, the correct approach is not to ignore being ignored, but to point this out in every setting so that relations are placed on the right footing.”

He added that they neither avoid dialogue nor refrain, when engaging in talks, from conveying their views, realities, and truths.

Erhurman underlined that they convey to all EU and EU member state officials they meet that confidence-building measures are also needed between the EU and Turkish Cypriots.

He said they have repeatedly explained their views on “on the political dimension of the matter and the anomaly regarding Cyprus within the EU,” and will continue to do so.

“I believe that even EU officials reconsidering this speech text alone would be enlightening in terms of understanding many of the points we are trying to convey,” Erhurman said.

Reiterating his message, he added: “It is not only dialogue, patience, and calmness that exist. Let no one overlook our determination.”

Decades-long 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 European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots single-handedly blocked a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.