NICOSIA – The isolated northern third of Cyprus occupied by a Turkish community since unlawful Turkish invasions in 1974 must be accepted by the United Nations and world, its leader Ersin Tatar again said.

He has rejected any idea of reunifying the island, the last attempt falling apart at the Swiss resort of Crans-Montana in July, 2017 and no progress made since then despite several restart pushes that halted

“If there is to be an agreement in Cyprus, there must be a sovereign Turkish state in the north. Without a sovereign Turkish state, we can never pursue this policy, our national interests and our national goals,” he said.

He was speaking with an Anadolu Agency correspondent regarding his visit to the opening of the UN General Assembly in New York although the occupied territory is not a member.

He complained that the Greek-Cypriot government – a member of the European Union that Turkey has been trying to join since 2005 – wants control of the island and to exclude rights of Turkish-Cypriots.

He said he would – as he did in 2021 and failed then – meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was at the Swiss debacle, to try to convince him that he is right.