Turkey does not have "another 50 years to waste" on the Cyprus issue, the Turkish president said on Tuesday, adding that proposals for a peaceful resolution of the matter are still on the table.
"A new negotiation process on Cyprus can only be carried out between the two states," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a ceremony in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) marking the 47th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation.
"The Greek Cypriots could not wake up from the ignorance of seeing Turkish Cypriots as a minority and rejecting a solution on the basis of equality," he said, adding that the Greek Cypriot side insists on maintaining its "maximalist, insincere and spoiled approach that is disconnected from reality."
Erdogan noted that the EU had vowed to support Turkish Cyprus in financial and administrative matters, but has so far failed to do so.
Referring to the Greek Cypriot administration, Erdogan said: "We can see that there are still those who yearn for the massacres before 1974. They are not honest."
"We are right (on Cyprus issue), and because we are right, we will defend our rights until the end," he stressed.
No one should expect from Turkish Cypriots to give up their equal status and sovereignty, and to accept to live as a minority as per the will of the Greek Cypriots," he said, adding that the Turkish Cypriots would not compromise on their independence and freedom.
