Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, centre, and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, centre right, surrounded by bodyguards leave after a meeting in Turkish occupied area at north part of divided capital Nicosia, Cyprus, Monday, July 19 – the eve of the 47th anniversary of the invasion of the island by Turkish forces. Photo:Nedim Enginsoy/AP Photo
20 July 2021 10:45am
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan pledged the building of a government building complex – a presidential residence and a parliament building – that would symbolise the Turkish-occupied territory in northern Cyprus.
Speaking on Monday, 19 July, the day before the 47th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of the island, Mr Erdogan told elected representatives of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), that the world would “sooner or later” recognise their state and repeated his support for a two-state solution for the island – a proposal that the governments of the Republic of Cyprus and Greece reject. They favour a peace settlement based on resolutions passed by the United Nations (UN).