Nicos Anastasiades, the president of Cyprus, has congratulated Ersin Tatar on his victory in the presidential election in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and said that they should meet as soon as possible, a daily Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th October, 2020) Nicos Anastasiades, the president of Cyprus, has congratulated Ersin Tatar on his victory in the presidential election in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) and said that they should meet as soon as possible, a daily Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported on Tuesday.
The second round of the presidential election was held in North Cyprus on Sunday. According to the results, nationalist candidate Tatar, which was backed by Turkey, secured 51.7 percent of the vote and became the president of the TRNC.
"The verdict of our compatriots to choose Mr. Ersin Tatar as the new leader of the Turkish Cypriot community is absolutely respected," the president said, as quoted by Kathimerini.
Tatar is a pro-Turkish politician and a hardline proponent of a two-state solution in Cyprus and he denies the possibility of the reunification of the Greek and Turkish communities. Tatar has expressed support for Turkey's foreign policy and endorsed the offensive operation the country organized in north-eastern Syria. In his turn, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan backed Tatar during the recent election.
Cyprus was split between Greek and Turkish communities in 1974, after Turkey invaded the island in response to an uprising of Greek Cypriots that resulted in a change of government. In 1983, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus declared its independence without being recognized by any country except for Turkey.
The United Nations has attempted to broker a reunification dialogue, but the effort failed and the talks have been completely stalled since 2017.
