Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited the TRNC on Sunday to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation, celebrating Peace and Freedom Day.

The visit included events honoring the military intervention launched by Türkiye in response to a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at annexing the island to Greece.

In a statement posted on X, Erdogan expressed heartfelt congratulations to the Turkish Cypriot people, saying: "On the 51st anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, I remember with respect our martyrs who gave their lives for the Turkish Cypriot people's struggle for existence, and I offer my gratitude to our heroic veterans.”

The Cyprus issue remains a decades-long conflict between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite numerous UN-led diplomatic efforts to reach a resolution. The conflict traces back to the early 1960s when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots into enclaves for safety. The 1974 coup by Greek Cypriots prompted Türkiye’s intervention as a guarantor power, leading to the establishment of the TRNC in 1983.

Peace negotiations have been intermittent, with a notable failure in 2017 during talks in Switzerland involving guarantor nations Türkiye, Greece, and the UK. The Greek Cypriot Administration’s entry into the EU in 2004 further complicated matters, as Greek Cypriots blocked a UN plan to resolve the dispute that same year. The longstanding division of the island continues to challenge regional stability. (ILKHA)