Turkey has renewed its defense of its 1974 invasion of Cyprus in a document circulated at the UN rejecting the internationally recognized terms “invasion” and “occupation” while again calling for a two-state settlement.
Turkey’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ahmet Yıldız, submitted the position in a letter dated July 16, 2026, addressed to Secretary-General António Guterres.
Yıldız asked the UN to circulate the letter and its annex as an official document of the General Assembly, under the agenda item “Question of Cyprus,” and of the Security Council.
The UN distributed the document on July 17 under the reference A/80/796–S/2026/586. Its circulation places Turkey’s position on the official record but does not signify UN endorsement of the claims it contains.
Turkey rejects ‘invasion’ and ‘occupation’ terms in Cyprus letter
The annex includes a letter from Murat Soysal, the New York representative of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which administers the Turkish-occupied north of the island and receives recognition only from Turkey. Soysal responded to remarks by the representative of the Republic of Cyprus during a July 8 Security Council meeting on conflict-related sexual violence.
He accused the Republic of Cyprus of exploiting the absence of Turkish Cypriot representatives from international institutions to portray the Cyprus issue solely as a case of Turkish invasion and occupation. The letter argues that any account of the conflict should begin with the intercommunal violence of 1963 rather than focus exclusively on Turkey’s military action in 1974.
It describes the intervention as “legitimate and justified” and claims that Turkey acted as a guarantor power under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee after the coup of July 15, 1974.
According to the Turkish Cypriot submission, Ankara intervened to protect the Turkish Cypriot community and “brought long-awaited peace and security” to the island.
Letter Highlights Violence Against Turkish Cypriots
Soysal also focuses on violence against Turkish Cypriots between 1963 and 1974. He claims that Turkish Cypriots suffered serious human rights violations, lived under restrictions in enclaves and lost access to the institutions of the Republic of Cyprus.
The letter also alleges that Turkish Cypriots experienced conflict-related sexual violence during that period. Soysal criticizes the Republic of Cyprus for excluding those experiences from its presentation to the Security Council.
He links the intercommunal violence of the 1960s to the creation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus in 1964. The submission uses this historical account to justify both Turkey’s 1974 military action and Ankara’s continuing role in the island’s security and guarantee arrangements.
European Parliament Resolution Draws Criticism
The letter also condemns a European Parliament resolution adopted on July 8, 2026, concerning the effects of the Turkish invasion on Cypriot women and girls.
The resolution addresses the consequences of the 1974 invasion, allegations of crimes by Turkish forces and the long-term impact on women and gender equality.
Soysal rejects the accusations against the Turkish Armed Forces as unfounded and accuses the European Parliament of politicizing a humanitarian issue.
He also claims that the European Union has abandoned impartiality on the Cyprus issue by aligning itself with the Republic of Cyprus. The European Parliament adopted the resolution under procedure 2026/2617(RSP).
Turkey Reasserts Its Two-State Position
The document also restates Turkey’s position on the future of Cyprus. It claims that the island contains “two separate States and two separate peoples,” each with its own language, culture and religion.
The letter argues that decades of unsuccessful negotiations have made a new approach unavoidable. It calls for cooperation between the two sides as “sovereign equals enjoying equal international status.”
This language reflects Ankara’s demand for recognition of what Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership describe as the sovereign equality and equal international status of Turkish Cypriots.
Turkey has increasingly presented such recognition as a prerequisite for the resumption of formal negotiations. The letter also argues that the Republic of Cyprus should negotiate directly with the Turkish Cypriot side rather than treat Turkey as its counterpart.
Turkey’s Two-State Proposal for Cyprus Contradicts UN Framework
Turkey’s two-state proposal conflicts with the established UN framework for resolving the Cyprus issue. UN Security Council resolutions support a bizonal, bicommunal federation based on political equality between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot communities.
Under that framework, a reunited Cyprus would have one sovereignty, one international legal personality and one citizenship. The Security Council has also ruled out partition, secession and union with another country. Security Council Resolution 541, adopted in 1983, declared the Turkish Cypriot unilateral declaration of independence legally invalid.
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