Mustafa Akinci

With the election of Erdogan’s chosen candidate, Ersin Tatar, many believe that Ankara’s control over the occupied territories will be even tighter and more glaring.

The issue to be decided in elections in Turkish-occupied Cyprus is whether dialogue and negotiations will proceed or whether Ankara’s provocative stance and the political fatigue of the Turkish-Cypriots will result in deeper impasses.

The last round of U.N.-sponsored negotiations collapsed in 2017 over the role of Turkey in a post-settlement Cyprus.

“Let them not test our power because there will be a heavy price to pay,” Akar declared today in Turkish-occupied Cyprus.

Özersay criticised Lute for not referring to a “common vision” and for pushing an agreement on the basis and the agenda for talks by the end of the year.