Ertuğruloğlu: “We’re Heading to New York as if Something Will Actually Happen”

He criticised the Greek Cypriot leadership’s refusal to recognise Turkish Cypriots as equals, stating, “What are we supposed to discuss with a Greek Cypriot leadership that persistently refuses to view us as equal and sovereign?”

Ertuğruloğlu accused both the United Nations and the European Union of deepening divisions on the island by treating the so-called Republic of Cyprus as the sole legitimate entity. “The problem was created by the UN and the EU. And yet, we continue to hope for solutions from them. As long as the Greek Cypriots are treated as the official state, no progress will be made. Even if we negotiate not for 60 years but 600, there will be no way forward as long as they are recognised as the legitimate state,” he said.

Responding to the argument that “if the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus had continued, we wouldn’t be facing today’s problems,” Ertuğruloğlu said:
“We would be facing the same problems either way. That argument comes from those who never accepted the TRNC in the first place.”

Rejecting the notion of a shared future with the Greek Cypriots, Ertuğruloğlu stated:
“We believe the exact opposite. We can only be neighbours. Everyone can visit each other, but at the end of the day, everyone must go back to their own home. That is our vision.”

He added that the two sides should build good neighbourly relations through inter-state agreements.
“The other side’s mentality of domination is clear. They demonstrate it every day, loud and clear. The recent arrests are just one example. It’s like being in love with your own executioner. Why are we so fixated on building a future with a people who have inflicted so much harm on us?”