TRNC envoy urges equal status for Turkish Cypriots

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Bukiet Kup, has said that the Turkish Cypriot people exercised their right to self-determination by establishing their independent state—an achievement reflecting their resilience, steadfastness, and decades-long struggle for survival. She made these remarks while addressing a ceremony in Islamabad marking the 42nd anniversary of the founding of the TRNC.

Ambassador Kup noted that despite more than fifty years of negotiations, the two sides in Cyprus have been unable to achieve a political settlement based on sovereign equality. She stressed that the time had come for a new and realistic approach aligned with the island’s ground realities.

She said the Turkish Cypriot leadership presented its new vision during the Geneva talks in April 2021, calling for acknowledgment of the sovereignty and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people. According to her, the core of the Cyprus issue lies in its status imbalance: the Greek Cypriot administration is recognised internationally as the representative of the entire island, while the Turkish Cypriots are regarded merely as a “community,” leaving them isolated and unrecognised globally.

Ambassador Kup emphasised that meaningful, result-oriented negotiations can take place only when this inequality is removed—an essential prerequisite for any sustainable settlement. The ceremony opened with a one-minute silence in memory of the martyrs of the Turkish C-130 military aircraft crash in Georgia, followed by the national anthems of Turkey and Pakistan. Concluding her remarks, Ambassador Bukiet Kup expressed heartfelt gratitude for Pakistan’s consistent support, saying that the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriot people deeply value their bond of friendship with Pakistan. Syed Naveed Jamal