Greece has condemned the granting of Organization of Turkish States observer status to unrecognized Northern Cyprus

Greece condemns the statements of the Turkish authorities that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is not recognized by the international community, will be granted observer status in the Organization of Turkish States (OTS).  This was reported in a statement issued yesterday, 11 November by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"We condemn the statements of the Turkish authorities that the fake state has an observer status in the Organization of Turkish States.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus has also issued a corresponding message in this regard.  Any attempt to increase the status of a pseudo-state is in violation of international law and UN Security Council Resolutions 541 and 550 is a gross violation of the resolutions", the document said.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Greece's position is stable and unchanged.

"We support the establishment of a two-community, two-territorial federation [on the island] to achieve a fair and stable solution to the Cyprus problem based on the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council and following European legislation," the ministry noted.

Yesterday, on 11 November, the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, thanked the leaders of the countries participating in the summit of the Organization of Turkic States for granting observer status to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.  In his speech at the opening ceremony of the OTS summit in Samarkand, Erdogan proposed to invite Northern Cyprus to the organization and give it observer status.  Later, Turkish Foreign Minister Mavlud Cavusoglu wrote on his Twitter page that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus received observer status in the OTS.

At the same time, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan, Vladimir Norov, stated at a briefing on the results of the summit that "There is no question of recognizing Northern Cyprus as an independent state."  He also reminded us that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has an observer status in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Organization of Economic Cooperation, and also participates in the activities of the International Turkish Cultural Organization.

Cyprus has been ethnically divided since Turkey's armed invasion in 1974, following a coup d'état by supporters of the island's annexation to Greece.  As a result of military operations, about 37 percent of the territory of Cyprus is under the control of Turkey.  Northern Cyprus was established in 1983 and is recognized in the world community only by Ankara.  Turkey maintains a military contingent of 40,000 people in Northern Cyprus.  The southern part of the island remained under the control of the Republic of Cyprus, which is mainly inhabited by Greek Cypriots.