Turkey: What is hidden behind its proposal for a two-state solution in Cyprus and Palestine

The two-state solution is a path that requires patience,” said Turkey‘s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz in his speech before the start of a parade in the occupied territories to mark the 40th anniversary of the illegal declaration of the pseudo-state.

He cited the Turkish poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy, saying that “this is the path of justice, we cannot turn back. We walk.”

Turkey’s Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, left, with occupation leader Ersin Tatar (file photo from trtavaz.com.tr)

“If Armageddon before us goes mad, goes insane, if there are seas of armies and clouds rain fleets, the faith in the breast will be the same, the joy will be the same, the pain will be the same, the purpose will be the same, the consciousness will be the same. Even if the world collapses, rest assured that this front will not be shaken.”

As Turkey, he continued, under the leadership of its president Tayyip Erdogan, they have assumed a decisive role in ensuring peace and security in the region.

“In this regard, our goal is to transform our region into a place of cooperation and for this cooperation to become a mechanism that continuously produces stability and prosperity.

“We are also working to make the Eastern Mediterranean a sea of peace for all the people of the region. As we defend the two-state solution in the Cyprus issue, we take the same stance in the Palestinian issue,” said Mr. Glimaz.

Cypriot and Palestinian

“The next period, the century of Turkey, is also the century of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus-TRNC (as he called the occupied territories of the Cyprus Republic). We will make every effort to ensure that the TRNC takes the place it deserves in the world”, he pointed out.

The issue, he argued, is the development of “northern Cyprus, the fair share in the natural resources and the integration of the TRNC into the international community. As a motherland and a guarantor country, we demonstrate a strong will and will protect the rights of the Turkish Cypriot people.”

Referring to the Palestinian, Cevdet Yilmaz noted that 40 days have passed since the start of the Israeli attacks and, according to the UN, 73% of the nearly 12,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza and the West Bank were women and children.

“They must be punished”

All these actions are against international law and human rights and must be punished, he stressed. We are trying to achieve an immediate ceasefire, he continued, and ensure the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“From here, from the lands of the TRNC that once experienced such atrocities, I send greetings to those who took a position on the side of the oppressed around the world,” he said, in a parallel reference to these two “hot” fronts in the region.

“We know this silence of the international community and some countries that call themselves the cradle of democracy, from previous periods, about the atrocities committed by the Greek Cypriots against the Turkish Cypriots here,” he claimed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Ankara (file photo from Turkish Presidency)

“It is important for the international community to take responsibility for Gaza and take concrete steps. The developments showed once again that it is not possible to establish permanent peace and stability in our region without a just political solution to the Palestinian issue”, he noted.

And revealing the essence of Turkish aspirations, he concluded, saying that “Turkey supports a solution process, including being a guarantor together with regional countries in the implementation phase of the solution.”

“Cyprus Model” for the Palestinian

Essentially, Turkey proposes the “Cyprus model” for the Palestinian issue, that is, the existence of two states, which in the case of the Cypriot issue aims at partition, as well as a system of guarantees, like the one that paved the way for the Attila invasion in 1974.

Indirectly but not clearly, Ankara’s aim is to “justify” the policy of partition in Cyprus, and, of course, if possible, to place itself in the big problem, the Palestinian issue, as has been reported in a section of the Turkish press, on the occasion of recent statements by Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, and Erdoğan’s government partner, far-right “gray wolf” Devlet Bakhceli, chairman of the MHP party.

In his statement on 21-10-2023, Bakhceli, who repeatedly says what Erdogan officially avoids saying, since he was attacked anyway for impossibility or indifference to a truce in Gaza, attempted to highlight Turkey as a decisive “player” in the Palestinian issue. Something, however, that many analysts strongly doubt.

“If the attacks don’t stop, if bombs continue to fall on the oppressed, I openly say to my nation that Turkey must quickly act and do what is necessary, given its historical, humanitarian and religious responsibilities. It is up to us to undertake the mission of protecting Gaza” was the statement that, from what he said, raised questions inside and outside his country about whether “Turkey will send troops to Palestine”.

The “guarantee system”

In fact, according to the opposition pro-Kemalist newspaper, Cumhuriyet, citing clarifications from MHP sources, “behind Bakhceli’s statements is the goal of creating a guarantee system in Palestine under Turkey.”

That is, for Turkey to become a guarantor in the event of a Palestinian settlement. The same sources, in fact, refer to Cyprus as an example of the “guarantee system”.

According to the same “MHP sources”, Cumhuriyet adds, Bakhceli’s statements were aimed at highlighting the proposal already made by the Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, regarding the implementation of a new guarantee mechanism to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in base of the two states.

According to the Turkish newspaper, according to the MHP, H. Fidan had actually proposed the model of international guarantees, while paralleling the Palestinian issue with the Cypriot issue and Gaza, he actually intended to “justify the two-state solution in Cyprus”.

Cumhuriyet’s article was titled: “Model of Cyprus. The guarantee system. MHP sources: We must move quickly for Palestine: Basis the model of Cyprus”.

To strengthen their argument, the same MHP sources cite as an example the Zurich-London agreements that led to the establishment of the Republic of Cyprus.

Bakhceli (left), who repeatedly says what Erdogan (right) officially avoids saying, has attempted to portray Turkey as a key “player” in the Palestinian (file photo from mei.edu)

“Interested parties can sign agreements in Palestine under Turkey. Turkish troops can be deployed to manage the peace process in the region,” they said.

In addition, according to the same sources, there is the example of the period before the Turkish invasion of Cyprus (“peace operation”, they call it), in 1974.

Neo-Ottoman pursuits

Ankara’s narrative is as follows, as explained by MHP sources: “Palestine was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1917. It was only placed under British mandate in 1920, following the Balfour Declaration on November 2, 1917. As in the case of Cyprus, Turkey’s base is in 1917. The area was under Turkish (at the time Ottoman – a state that no longer exists) rule until 1917.

“In other words, Turkey is not a stranger to this land, or as Bakhceli puts it: This land is the heritage of our ancestors. Therefore, a guarantee mechanism to be created should be placed under Turkey. Turkey must assume a leading role in the region”.

Israel is a threat to Turkey

At the same time, the same MHP sources point out that Israel “wants to create a new Middle East” with the support of the US, as well as that “Turkey will be its next” target.

After mentioning that Palestine is geographically close to Turkey, in the Eastern Mediterranean, they emphasize: “Israel and the USA want to change this geography. This means they are targeting Turkey via Syria. Turkey is conducting anti-terrorist operations in northern Syria.

“Everyone knows that the US protects terrorist organizations there such as the PYD and the YPG (since Turkey calls the Kurdish movement in Syria that cooperates with US forces “terrorists”).

They also go so far as to “link” terrorist organizations such as the PYD and YPG to Israel, which will then threaten Turkey’s security. We, as Turkey, will never allow this,” they conclude.