WASHINGTON – In a meeting at the White House, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis told US President Joe Biden that a demand by Turkish-Cypriots for the world to recognize the occupied territory is untenable.

Turkey seized the northern third of the island in two unlawful 1974 invasions and still keeps a 35,000-strong standing army there and Turkish-Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said he doesn’t want reunification.

Only Turkey recognizes the occupied territory but Tatar insisted that the United Nations has to accept its sovereignty as it remains isolated in the world while the Greek-Cypriot government is a member of the European Union.

“A quick word about our region, Mr. President.  You are extremely knowledgeable about the Cyprus issue,” Mitsotakis told Biden, who was hosting a reception in his honor, said In-Cyprus Philenews.

“And please, use all your influence to put the negotiation process back on track in accordance with the U.N. Security Council resolutions.  No one — no one can or will accept a two-state solution in Cyprus,” he added.