Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu emphasized that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is the sovereign state of the Turkish Cypriot people and that permission is required by the authorities of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for foreign powers to carry out duties on these lands.
Stating that they had no such desire of closing the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to the rest of the world, Ertuğruloğlu said that on the contrary, they would be happy to receive the right of status to the world that they deserve.
Speaking to BRT, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu gave information on the details of his statements regarding the United Nations Peacekeeping Force.
“Hospitality is over, either they sign a military agreement with the TRNC or they withdraw from the TRNC,” Foreign Minister Ertuğruloğlu said, stating that he found it strange that the issue has been put on the agenda as if it is new.
Ertuğruloğlu continued as follows:
“For years, we have granted consent to the UN Peacekeeping Force to serve on this island under a guest status. They knew that we were preparing for this issue months ago, I reminded that we would approach them with such a demand. I explained that if the issue was welcomed we would work on it and if not, it could be put to the table. The UN Peacekeeping Force cannot operate on our territory with only the approval of the so-called “Republic of Cyprus”, Ertuğruloğlu said
I have been bringing this issue to the agenda for months, this is not a surprise for the UN, he said.
“We are not playing games, we are just saying that foreign powers can only operate with our authority. We are not against the UN Peacekeeping Force carrying out duties on the Greek Cypriot side or in the buffer zone, but for the Turkish side, they need permission from our authorities,” Ertuğruloğlu said
