Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar on Thursday hit back at the Greek Cypriot administration for seeking “unlawful” arrests against people buying property in the TRNC.
“I will never give credence to the threats and blackmails of the Greek Cypriots,” Tatar told reporters after receiving Maria Cuellar, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ personal representative to Cyprus.
The meeting, which took place at the TRNC Presidential Campus, lasted approximately 1.5 hours.
After the meeting, Tatar stressed that he never avoided dialogue and contact, and reminded that he met with the Greek Cypriot leader twice in the last two months.
“But,” he said, “Greek arrests of the people who bought property in the TRNC brought me to the point of giving a diplomatic response.”
“As long as the Greek Cypriot leader continues to attack us, he will receive a similar response,” he added.
The Greek Cypriot administration has arrested several individuals who purchased properties in the divided island’s north, governed by the TRNC.
Tatar condemned the move, arguing it undermined the assessments of the U.N. chief that a positive climate had emerged after a landmark meeting in Geneva earlier this month to foster cooperation efforts between the divided communities.
"People who invest or carry out property transactions within the borders of the TRNC are being portrayed as committing crimes for political reasons, and an atmosphere of fear is being stoked. This is unacceptable,” Tatar said.
He said the Greek Cypriot administration led a “dangerous approach targeting not only individual rights but also the trust between the two peoples and a possibility of future reconciliation.”
“As long as this attitude continues, it is not possible to talk about a healthy dialogue environment,” he added.
Cuellar, assigned to the Cyprus dispute since last year, is set to hold a separate meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides on Friday.
She said she would also meet with the chambers of commerce of both sides to continue building bridges.
Tatar previously criticized the Greek Cypriot administration last year for targeting the TRNC’s tourism. The Greek Cypriot administration has initiated a process against third-country nationals who purchased property from the TRNC, claiming that they are supposedly "looting (alleged) Greek Cypriot property."
Cyprus has been mired for decades in a dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. 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. The country is fully recognized only by Türkiye, which does not recognize the Greek Cypriot administration in the south.
The island has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, but negotiations have been stalled since 2017.
At a March meeting in Geneva, the sides agreed to a series of trust-building measures, including talks on opening new crossing points along a 180-kilometer (120-mile) U.N. control buffer zone that divides the north from the south.
Other measures included work on a photovoltaic park inside the buffer zone, demining and restoration work on cemeteries on either side of the divide.
