Turkish troop presence indispensable for Turkish Cyprus: President Tatar

Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar has said that Turkish troop presence on the island is "indispensable." "Turkey's guarantor status and Turkish troop presence are red lines for us and they're indispensable," Tatar said.

Tuesday February 16 2021 04:21 pm

Duvar English

Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar has said that Turkey's guarantor status and Turkish troop presence are red lines for the northern side of the island.

"Turkey's guarantor status, Turkish troop presence in Cyprus, our sovereignty and political equality are our red lines and they are indispensable," Tatar said in a written statement on Feb. 15.

The remarks of Tatar, who is strongly backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), came after Greek Cyprus demanded that Turkey's guarantor status be removed.

According to Tatar, Greek Cyprus "is continuing their provocations," as he also slammed the Greek Cypriot side's chief negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis.

“The Greek Cypriot mentality has not changed and is not going to change,” Tatar said in response to Mavroyiannis, who earlier said that Turkish Cypriot calls for sovereign equality "would be the end of us as a country."