Türkiye's President Erdogan to visit Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

ISTANBUL

Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday will pay a visit to Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said on Friday.

As part of the visit, Erdogan will inaugurate the campus where the TRNC presidency, the Republican Assembly, the prime ministry and the National Garden are located and will attend the TEKNOFEST TRNC award ceremony, Altun said on X.

He added that Erdogan will also meet TRNC President Ersin Tatar and discuss the Cyprus issue as well as bilateral ties and international developments.

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.