Ertuğruloğlu: Divisions Over Cyprus Weaken Turkish Cypriot Side Internationally

Speaking on Kanal T's Odak Noktası programme hosted by İrfan Batu, Ertuğruloğlu said Cyprus policy could not be determined solely by the Foreign Ministry or the Presidency, stressing that what he described as the national cause is shaped together with Turkey and should be defended jointly.

He said similar disagreements had existed in the past, but argued they should not be regarded as a sign of democratic diversity.

"If we are united on the objective, we may have different methods of achieving it. That is the richness of our democracy. But if we differ on the objective itself, you cannot describe that as the richness of our democracy. It is a weakness of the Turkish Cypriot side," he said.

Ertuğruloğlu also said there was no consultation mechanism with the President on Cyprus policy, adding that he had never received a request for such discussions. He said their differing views had at times compelled him to express his position through press conferences.

He criticised the President's approach to the Cyprus issue, saying he did not see a clear position and arguing that recent statements and actions pointed to a different objective.

Referring to the island's history, Ertuğruloğlu said, "We live on the island of Cyprus, but there has never been a reality called the Cypriot nation."

He cited the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, saying the state never adopted a national anthem because there was no common national identity.

"When the 1960 Republic was established, no national anthem was written because there was no common nation," he said.

Ertuğruloğlu said that while citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus was created, the island's communities retained their ethnic identities, with people continuing to identify as Turkish, Greek Cypriot or members of ethnic minority groups.

He added that the Maronite and Armenian communities had, over time, chosen to integrate with the Greek Cypriot side, maintaining that a shared definition of a "Cypriot nation" has never emerged.