Erdogan says mother-daughter ties will never change

By Staff Reporter

A COMMENT made by newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci regarding the relationship between Ankara and the Turkish Cypriots has Turkey’s irked President Tayyip Erdogan, reports said on Monday.

Responding to a comment by Akinci that “there is no longer a ‘little’ country but two sister countries,” Erdogan rhetorted “Mr. president must hear with his ears what is coming out of his mouth.”

Erdogan went on to say that Turkey paid for the Turkish Cypriots’ upkeep and suggested they could not make it on their own.

“Turkey sees north Cyprus as a little country, yes. Whatever the relation a mother has with her child, this would continue to be the relation with her child,” the Turkish president said.

Erdogan said Turkey fought for Turkish Cypriots on the international stage and wondered whether Akinci could fight the fight alone.

“We cannot look at Cyprus the same way they look at it,” he said.

Erdogan said sensitivity and caution was necessary.

Akinci, who was in a CNNTurk studio listening to Erdogan, replied immediately: “So we must remain a little country forever? Never grow up and stand on our own feet?”

Akinci said he was not happy getting into an argument with Erdogan.

He sought to clarify that his statement did not exclude Turkey; on the contrary, he meant a mutual relation.

“There might be different approaches, we will sit and talk,” Akinci said.

The Turkish Cypriot leader said Erdogan was wrong and that he planned to contact him after his interview.

He said the exploited motherland philosophy must be put aside and “fraternal relations” introduced.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.