Turkish nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli has called for the breakaway Turkish Cypriot state to hold a parliamentary vote to join Turkey, following the recent election of Tufan Erhurman, a centre-left candidate who supports resuming talks with Greek Cypriots.
Bahceli, a key ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, dismissed proposals for a federal solution on the ethnically divided island, stating that “Cyprus is Turkish and the homeland of Turks.”
“The TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) parliament must take a decision to join the Republic of Turkey,” Bahceli told his parliamentary group, emphasizing that federation proposals have no validity or future.
Erhurman’s landslide victory offers renewed hope for breaking the eight-year deadlock in peace negotiations with the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government, as he pledged to restart dialogue.
While Erdogan congratulated the new Turkish Cypriot leader, Bahceli’s comments underline the nationalist bloc’s push for closer political and territorial alignment with Ankara.
Cyprus has remained divided since the 1974 Turkish invasion, which followed a brief Greek-inspired coup, and relations between Greek and Turkish Cypriots have remained tense since peace talks collapsed in 2017.
