LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus said on Wednesday that there cannot be another 50 years without a solution on the island.
President Dervis Eroglu's remarks came after he received the United Nations Secretary-General Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide, on Wednesday.
"Turkish Cypriots want a solution and we cannot put a hold on their wishes for too long," he said.
Eroglu also commented on Greek-Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades' call on Turkey to withdraw vessels from Cyprus, saying that this was a unilateral move by the Greek-Cypriot administration.
"You cannot reach a solution by constantly imposing demands," Eroglu said.
The Greek-Cypriot administration suspended the most recent talks with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus over the island's future on Oct. 7, after Turkey sent an oil and gas research vessel on a mission off the Cyprus coast.
The move to send a research vessel, with two navy ships, was intended to show that Turkey objected to the Greek Cypriot administration's plans to unilaterally exploit hydrocarbon resources off the island.
Both Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have called for a fair division of such resources between both sides.
The President of the Turkish Republic Northern Cyprus also said the Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades will go to New York for treatment and that negotiations cannot start for at least another month, "not in his condition."
Anastasiades’ nose started to bleed ahead of a European Council meeting on Oct. 23 and was rushed to hospital, but he was later released.
"The important thing is that the Greek Cypriots come back to the negotiating table with a will to find a solution," Eroglu said.
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