Turkey’s foreign minister told the UN envoy he supports resolving the Cyprus issue on a two-state basis

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a meeting in Ankara with the personal envoy of the UN secretary-general, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, that Turkey supports a settlement of the Cyprus conflict based on the two-state principle. Fidan stressed that sovereign equality and equal international status for Turkish Cypriots are the only realistic option, and that approaches that do not take these rights into account will not produce results. The sides also discussed the envoy’s recent contacts with the leaders of both communities on the island.
Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkey intervened militarily after a coup attempt by Greek Cypriots aimed at annexing the island to Greece, which led to the creation of the TRNC in 1983. Peace efforts have stalled after the failure of the 2017 talks in Switzerland. The status quo has persisted for two decades after the Greek Cypriot administration joined the EU in 2004, having rejected at a referendum the UN plan for reunifying the island.