Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler visited northern Cyprus to mark the 52nd anniversary of Türkiye's 1974 military intervention, as Ankara reaffirmed its support for Turkish Cypriots and renewed its call for international recognition of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
On Sunday, Güler met Tufan Erhürman, president of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), and joined commemorations marking the anniversary.
According to the Turkish Defence Ministry, the Turkish Air Force marked the occasion by conducting training flights with combat and support aircraft in international airspace south of the divided island.
Speaking to Turkish state media, TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said that "decades of talks" had failed to resolve one of the world's longest-running territorial disputes.
Ertuğruloğlu blamed the United Nations for contributing to the impasse by recognising the island's Greek Cypriot administration as the Republic of Cyprus.
He also criticised the European Union's decision to admit the Republic of Cyprus as a full member despite the island's continued division.
On Monday, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said Ankara would continue "defending the interests of Turkish Cypriots" and working towards international recognition of the TRNC as a sovereign state.
Writing on social media, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said Türkiye remained the "guarantor of the legitimate rights of the Turkish Cypriot people and of peace and tranquility on the island of Cyprus."
Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines for more than five decades.
Türkiye sent troops to the eastern Mediterranean island on 20 July 1974, five days after a coup backed by a military junta in Athens sought to unite Cyprus with Greece.
Ankara says it intervened as a guarantor power to protect the island's ethnic Turkish minority.
Turkish forces ultimately seized control of more than a third of the island. In the ensuing conflict, large numbers of Greek and Turkish Cypriots were displaced, cementing the island's partition.
In 1983, Turkish Cypriots established the TRNC, but the breakaway state is recognised only by Türkiye.
In 2004, the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus, which controls the island's south, formally joined the European Union.
Repeated UN-backed peace initiatives have since failed to reunify the island.
While Greek Cypriot leaders continue to support a federal settlement bringing both communities together, Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot leadership advocate a two-state solution with two separate sovereign states enjoying equal international status.
Next week, UN Secretary-General António Guterres will visit the island in an effort to revive the moribund peace process.
"We hope conditions will be created for the resumption of talks," Nikos Christodoulides, president of the Republic of Cyprus, said over the weekend.
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy...
A Chinese-made AI chip has matched Nvidia’s H200 in tests conducted by its developer, marking a potential breakthrough in China’s effor...
China’s GJ-21 carrier-based stealth reconnaissance and strike drone has completed its first take-off and landing on board the Sichuan, the co...
The Middle East conflict remains tense as diplomatic efforts continue alongside renewed Houthi attacks. Iran says it remains open to mediation, while the Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile fired towards the kingdom.
Rescuers searched the wreckage of two high-speed trains in central Spain on Thursday as the death toll rose to a provisional 74, making it the country's second fatal high-speed rail disaster this year.
Evacuations and the provision of humanitarian aid in the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian town of Oleshky have begun, a senior Ukrainian official said on Friday. In a statement on Telegram, David Arakhamia said a six-day ceasefire was holding, and that more details would follow.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday as part of efforts to reach a deal between the U.S. and Iran, according to an official briefed on the talks.
UN human rights experts comprising a group including Special Rapporteurs and independent experts who are part of the UN Human Rights Council, have criticised French authorities over their handling of nationwide student protests.
Demonstrators carrying Iranian flags and placards supporting the hijab gathered outside the Azerbaijani Embassy in London.
Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan surged by 330 per cent in 2026 despite a four-year ban, the United Nations said on Thursday. Afghan authorities disputed the findings, while Japan urged continued support for farmers seeking alternative livelihoods.
Central Asia could gain up to $640 million a year from closer energy cooperation, but strained electricity grids threaten to limit those gains, with Kazakhstan particularly exposed to regional power shortages and growing pressure on its network.
Georgia and Azerbaijan are stepping up efforts to boost trade, strengthen transport links between Asia and Europe and resolve a longstanding border dispute, as both countries seek to deepen their strategic partnership.
People travelling between Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Azerbaijan could soon be able to pay for purchases using their usual banking apps. Central banks from the five countries are working on linking their national payment systems.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment