Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said, "The most realistic solution is the two-state solution, where the TRNC has equal rights with its southern neighbour."
In an interview with the Greek newspaper "Kathimerini", Director of Communications Altun evaluated issues such as Turkish-Greek relations, the Cyprus issue, the Eastern Mediterranean and the refugee crisis.
Underlining that Türkiye wanted the problems to be resolved through dialogue and peace to prevail in every region that concerned it, Altun said, "This is also true for the Cyprus issue. Turkish Cypriots have endured the violence in the past and waited decades for the Greek Cypriots to act rationally."
Recalling that Turkish Cypriots voted "yes" to the Annan Plan, Altun said, "In my opinion, the prospect of the two communities living together ended on the day when the Greek Cypriots were admitted to the EU. Despite this, efforts were made with good intentions for years. However, the good intention has a limit. Everyone realises that living under the same roof is no longer possible."
Pointing out that from that point forward, the two communities on the island could only live in peace as citizens of the two neighbouring countries, Altun remarked, "If we do not want to hand down this conflict to our children, we must be realistic. The most realistic solution is the two-state solution, where the TRNC has equal rights with its southern neighbour."
Altun highlighted that while Türkiye valued good relations with all of its neighbours, particularly Greece, it also expected respect from its neighbours.
Noting that the Turkish side was not the source of conflict between the two countries in recent years, Altun went on to say:
"Unfortunately, some Greek politicians, together with Greek Cypriot politicians, put forward maximalist claims that almost completely disregard the rights of Türkiye and Turkish Cypriots. They presented these claims, which do not comply with international law, to the Greek people as if those were the granted rights they already had. At the same time, they tried to obtain results of these claims by reposing on the EU's member solidarity. Türkiye also took the necessary steps to protect both its own rights and the rights of Turkish Cypriots stemming from international law. Today, this plan has no credibility. Neither is it fair. Therefore, our expectation from the Greek side is that they abandon their maximalist claims and instead consider ways to amicably share the region's wealth."
"We cannot end the differences of opinion on our own"
Stating that he did not believe that Türkiye had major, unsolvable problems with Greece, Altun said, "However, we cannot end the differences of opinion between the two states on our own. First of all, I must say that dialogue and international court are not alternatives to each other. There is no other way to establish a win-win relationship than dialogue. We sit down and talk; if there is anything we cannot agree on, we take it to a mechanism registered in the UN Charter. In other words, these two elements do not compete with each other, but rather complement each other."
Indicating that Türkiye was trying to defend its rights in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, Altun stated the following:
"I'd like to state unequivocally that we do not have an eye either on the rights of Greece or any of our neighbours. Unfortunately, I believe that the Greek public opinion is not properly guided about Türkiye. I am a person who pays close attention to the Greek media. I am always shocked when I read in the press that Türkiye is about to invade Greece. Therefore, the general opinion may not always reflect the facts. To put it briefly, we should do with the wealth of our region what the European Union (EU) did with coal. Only through communicating will we be able to find a solution. That is why, despite the Greeks' reservations, we have pushed on dialogue."
Hagia Sophia
Talking about the issue of Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, Altun said that there were several points that were misconstrued.
Altun pointed out that despite being built as a church, it was used as a mosque for centuries, adding that its conversion into a museum dated back to 70-80 years ago.
Stating that it was not a matter of converting a museum into a mosque, Altun indicated that the decision was made by the court, not the government..
Altun stated that the worship of Muslims in Hagia Sophia did not diminish that place's feature of being the common heritage of humanity, and said, "Can we object to the worship in Notre Dame Church by saying it is on the World Heritage list? Hagia Sophia is a domestic affair of Türkiye. We have nothing to hesitate or be offended in this matter."
July 15
In response to a question about the July 15 coup attempt by the Fetullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO), Altun said, "Türkiye faced an extremely unusual attack on July 15. Imagine Greek planes bombing Athens, tanks smashing your cars and civilians being executed in the streets. I do not wish for any society to experience such a situation. On the other hand, July 15 demonstrated how our President infused self-confidence to the Turkish nation and how our people embraced democracy."
Underlining that Europe had failed to provide the necessary support to Türkiye after July 15, Altun stated the following:
"Remember the putschists who were granted asylum by Greece. When the coup attempt failed, these people fled to Greece by a military helicopter. These putschists were recognised as political refugees rather than being extradited to Türkiye. We would have expected a different response from a country like our neighbour Greece, which is intimately familiar with the reality of the coup. We still do."
"Türkiye has a strong leader"
Noting that Türkiye played an active and constructive role in a number of regions ranging from Africa to Latin America, the Caucasus to Central Asia, and the Balkans to the Middle East, Altun said, "For years, some has been discussing the 'axis shift' in Turkish Foreign Policy. Those who take such charges seriously can be divided into two groups: the first group are those who are uncomfortable with Türkiye's activities because they conflict with their own interests. They make some assertions. The second group consist of those who blindly believe these claims and are unaware of the real world. We do not act by taking these discussions seriously or into account. The Republic of Türkiye has a deep-rooted state tradition and a strong leader. We are going about our business as usual."
Recalling that they had disagreements with the USA on issues such as FETO and the terrorist organisation YPG/PKK, Altun said:
"It is, of course, a wrong policy of a country we call a 'strategic partner' to support a terrorist attempting to stage a coup in Türkiye or an organisation targeting our citizens. Similarly, we think that they acted inappropriately when it came to the F-35. In this case, we have some rights. Likewise, from the US own perspective, there may be points on which they disagree. The key is to focus on the areas of cooperation by bracketing the contentious areas. This is not limited to Türkiye-US relations. The steps we will take together in Afghanistan today are a good example of this."
Commenting on the refugee crisis, Altun said, "The transformation of irregular migration into a crisis is mainly due to Europe's lack of strategy and vision."
Pointing to the agreement signed with the EU in 2016, Altun said, "The EU failed to honour its commitment under the agreement and refused to appreciate the severity of Türkiye's migrant burden resulting from Syria. How could Türkiye, all by itself, fulfil the obligations of an agreement that the EU did not comply with? As a result, if there is an issue, it is necessary to look for it in Brussels."
"If Türkiye is strong, Europe will be strong, too"
Stating that Türkiye had more than fulfilled its responsibilities for refugees for ten years, Altun said, "Half of Syria would be in Europe if the Turkish people had not acted in such a humane and moral manner. We have not only become a host but also cleared the areas controlled by the DAESH and PKK from terrorism and established safe zones there."
Stating that services such as infrastructure, education and health care were provided in these safe zones, Altun concluded his remarks as follows:
"When we met these bare-bones requirements, hundreds of thousands of refugees returned to their homes. In these regions, production and commerce have resumed. I state unequivocally: The most efficient method of combating irregular migration is to support Türkiye while tackling the root causes of the problems, not to reduce this support to financial aid only, and to think people-oriented. This requires an update to the agreement. If Türkiye is strong, Europe will be strong, too. However, this crisis will not be resolved if we try to find palliative remedies for structural problems. It would be delusional to expect Türkiye to solve these structural problems on its own."