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Turkish president doesn’t rule out Cyprus peace talks restart

NICOSIA, CYPRUS (AP) – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday didn’t rule out reviving deadlocked negotiations to resolve Cyprus’ nearly 50-year ethnic division, but again rejected any deal that wouldn’t offer Turkish Cypriots a state of their own.

That position stands against a United Nations (UN)-sanctioned framework envisioning a federated island nation.

Speaking at celebrations in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north on the 49th anniversary of a Turkish invasion that split the island along ethnic lines, Erdogan again poured cold water on Greek Cypriot hopes of forming a federation composed of Greek and Turkish speaking zones as has been the aim of talks for decades.

“Everyone needs to understand now that a federal solution is not possible,” Erdogan said.

He said that Turkiye does not oppose fresh talks, but that negotiations cannot restart without recognising the “sovereign equality and equal international status” of the Turkish Cypriots.

Prompted by a coup in Cyprus aimed at uniting the island with Greece, Turkiye’s invasion culminated in a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence in 1983. That is recognised only by Turkiye, which maintains more than 35,000 soldiers in the island’s northern third.Numerous rounds of UN-facilitated talks over the decades have focused on formulating a power-sharing agreement between the Turkish Cypriots and majority Greek Cypriots under a federal arrangement.

But Turkiye and the Turkish Cypriots changed tack in 2017 when the most recent round collapsed essentially over a disagreement on whether Turkiye could maintain a permanent military presence on the island.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. PHOTO: AFP
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