Turkish nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli said the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state should hold a parliamentary vote to join Türkiye, two days after Turkish Cypriots elected a candidate in favour of restarting talks with Greek Cypriots.
Bahceli, a key ally of President Tayyip Erdoğan whose remarks have at times foreshadowed government policy, on Tuesday dismissed calls for a federal solution on the ethnically split island and said "Cyprus is Turkish and the homeland of Turks".
The landslide victory of centre-left politician Tufan Erhurman as the next Turkish Cypriot president has offered hope in breaking an eight-year impasse in peace talks on the divided island of Cyprus, which has an internationally recognised Greek Cypriot government.
He has pledged to restart talks with Greek Cypriots.
Erdoğan congratulated the new leader following Sunday's election, but Bahceli's comments highlight the nationalist bloc's push for closer political and territorial alignment with Ankara.
"The TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) parliament must take a decision to join the Republic of Turkey," Bahceli told his parliamentary group on Tuesday, referring to the breakaway state, which is only recognised by Türkiye .
"The fate of Turkish Cypriots cannot be represented through this level of participation," he said of Sunday's vote.
"There is no validity or future for federation proposals. Cyprus is our national cause and there is absolutely no turning back from this just cause."
Erdoğan and Bahceli, while not of the same political party, have been in a governing alliance since 2018.
Cyprus was split in a Turkish invasion in 1974 after a brief Greek-inspired coup, and relations between ethnic Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been strained since peace talks collapsed in 2017.
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The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a new attack Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
Russia has violated an energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday, urging Washington to step in to ensure that Moscow abided by the terms of the putative agreement.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 12 October 2026 with the top five natural disasters happening around the world.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine is ready to respect the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, but only if Russia does the same, saying Moscow has already violated the agreement.
China has announced sanctions against Belize’s foreign minister and Paraguay’s communications minister over their countries’ diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The move comes as Beijing continues to pressure the few remaining nations that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.
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