Ankara, Turkey. CHP leader Ozgur Ozel on Tuesday urged Turkic states to recognise northern Cyprus as an independent country and criticised what he described as Turkey’s exclusion in the eastern Mediterranean.
Claims of regional isolation
Addressing his party’s MPs, Ozel said Turkey was being sidelined in the eastern Mediterranean, naming the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Egypt as opposing Turkey.
He said Turkey had made “a move” in Libya through efforts to delimit maritime borders, but added that Greece was working to counter those efforts.
Libya maritime border dispute
Greece maintains that Turkey does not share a maritime border with Libya and has pursued agreements with Egypt and, this week, with Libya’s government of national unity aimed at rendering Turkey’s efforts invalid.
Turkey signed a maritime agreement with Libya’s government of national accord in 2019, but it was never ratified by Libya’s legislature. The government of national unity superseded the government of national accord in 2021 and is now the sole internationally recognised government of Libya.
Criticism of Gulf states and Aegean tensions
Ozel said the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were also against Turkey, and claimed that Qatar was conducting drilling operations for Greeks in the eastern Mediterranean.
He also said Greece was arming the Aegean islands in violation of agreements and that Europe was backing Greece.
Call for recognition of northern Cyprus
On Cyprus, Ozel described the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as a national cause and said Turkey’s medium-term goal should be to secure international recognition of the TRNC to improve what he called an “asymmetrical” situation with the Greek Cypriot administration and achieve gains through diplomacy.
He said Turkic states should be the first to recognise the TRNC, adding that none currently does. He said those states had recognised southern Cyprus and were sending ambassadors, while the Greek Cypriot administration in southern Cyprus holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union.
Reference to visit for Nicosia meeting
Ozel also criticised developments he said had led to Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visiting Cyprus to attend last month’s informal European Council meeting in Nicosia.
What impact do you think recognition of northern Cyprus by Turkic states would have on regional diplomacy?