Northern Cyprus Says Russia To Open Consulate
Russia has decided to open a consular office in Northern Cyprus, the self-proclaimed republic that is recognised only by Turkey, its leader said Wednesday.
The move comes as Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has renewed a push for international recognition of the statelet on the island of Cyprus, which has been divided since 1974 when the Turkish army invaded the northern third of the island in response to a Greek-sponsored coup.
Northern Cyprus’s leader Ersin Tatar said Russians “have begun taking the steps to open an office. Britain already has an office, it’s not a problem for us if Russia does the same”.
“There are many Russians here, so it’s normal that they open an office,” Tatar told the Gundem Kibris newspaper.
The Turkish Cypriot foreign minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu told broadcaster TRT Haber that “Russia wants to open an office to provide consular services for its citizens”.
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“But it should not be interpreted as a recognition” of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), he said.
Erdogan recently inaugurated a new airport for Northern Cyprus, six times larger than the previous, that has a capacity to handle some 10 million passengers a year.
Turkey maintains more than 35,000 troops in the north, which opposes the goal of Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, who backs a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation in line with the United Nations framework.
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United Nations peacekeepers patrol a buffer zone separating the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) from the internationally recognised south.
Negotiations to resolve the Cyprus conflict have been deadlocked since 2017.
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