Northern Cyprus Proposes Cooperation With Greek Cypriots On Hydrocarbon, Renewables

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on Friday presented to the UN proposals for cooperation with the Greek Cypriot administration on hydrocarbons, electricity, renewable energy, and water on the basis of a two-state solution.

TRNC President Ersin Tatar received Miroslav Jenca, assistant secretary-general for Europe, Central Asia and Americas in the UN Department of Political Affairs.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Tatar said: "Today, I have presented four proposals prepared in accordance with the win-win principle, on the basis of our vested rights, and with the needs of both parties taken into account."

The president said the Turkish Cypriot side presented the proposals to Jenca to be conveyed to Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades through UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Tatar, who reiterated the need for cooperation between the two sides on the island, said a cooperation will both contribute to create a necessary reconciliation environment and to the peace and stability in the region.

"We expect a positive attitude from all relevant parties, especially from the Greek Cypriot side, on the implementation of these proposals to contribute to the peace, stability and prosperity of both our island and our region," he expressed.

Türkiye welcomes proposals

Meanwhile, the Turkish Foreign Ministry welcomed Tatar's new cooperation proposals.

"We strongly support the proposals ... that envisage cooperation with the Greek Cypriot side on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status," the ministry said in a statement.

"The implementation of these proposals will not only contribute to peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean, but also help the establishment of the common ground for the settlement of the Cyprus issue, through cooperation between the two existing States on the Island," it added.

Decades-long dispute

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration joined the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the UN's Annan plan to end the longstanding dispute. -