Ersin Tatar, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), on Tuesday received Gen. Metin Gürak, the Turkish chief of General Staff and his delegation.
According to a statement made by the TRNC Presidency, Gürak and his accompanying military delegation came to the capital Lefkosa for the country's 40th anniversary ceremonies.
Speaking at a reception held at the TRNC Presidency, Tatar pointed to conflicts taking place around the world and stressed the importance of Türkiye's guarantorship and the presence of Turkish soldiers on the island for the stability of Cyprus.
Under a 1960 treaty, Türkiye is a guarantor country for the island, and in 1974, Turkish troops were sent to the island to protect Cyprus' Turkish population from ethnic violence amid a Greek Cypriot coup effort.
Tatar emphasized that the Turkish Armed Forces have brought peace to both Greeks and Turks since 1974 and added, "The only guarantee of stability and security in the Eastern Mediterranean is the presence of the Turkish Armed Forces here."
Gürak also expressed his satisfaction at being in the TRNC, adding that they are very proud to be together on its 40th anniversary.
The general said Cyprus is Türkiye's national cause and that they will continue to support the TRNC in every field.
The Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their own safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation of the island led to Türkiye's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was founded on Nov. 15, 1983.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Türkiye, Greece, and the UK.
The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year the Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.
