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Ustel Criticizes Greek Cypriot Leadership's Approach to Political Equality

Published February 21, 2026, 17:14
Ustel Criticizes Greek Cypriot Leadership's Approach to Political Equality

The "prime minister" of the Turkish Cypriot administration, Unal Ustel, strongly criticized the policies of the Greek Cypriot leadership regarding political equality, describing them as “incompatible with honesty”. Responding to statements by President Christodoulides, Ustel accused the Greek Cypriot side of the failure of negotiations at Crans-Montana and of continuing a mindset of rejecting solutions. He argued that the Greek Cypriot side’s insistence on zero troops and zero guarantees prevented a compromise from being reached. Ustel claimed that President Christodoulides’ statement about Tufan Erhurman is a political maneuver for domestic consumption and contributes nothing to the resolution process. He believes that a real solution depends on recognizing the inherent rights of Turkish Cypriots. He reaffirmed the commitment of the “TRNC” and Turkey to dialogue and a fair solution, but stressed that they will not accept any imposition that would relegate Turkish Cypriots to a minority. Finally, he called on the Greek Cypriot leadership to learn from the past and accept the sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriots.