A new airport being built in the north will be named after Fazıl Kucuk, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said on Tuesday.

Kucuk served as the first Vice-President of Cyprus between 1959 and 1973 after the island gained its independence from the British.

Naming the airport after Kucuk will send an important message to the international community, since he lit the flame driving Turkish Cypriots forward, Tatar said.

Once more, he reiterated his stance that a two-state solution is the only way to solve the Cyprus problem, arguing it could foster fruitful cooperation between the two sides.

“Turkish Cypriot sovereignty is a historic right, and it is not under discussion,” he said.

Tatar added that “Geneva was a gamechanger” and that the Turkish side made historic steps during the informal five-party summit.

He also said that a bizonal-bicommunal federation can be harmful to Turkish-Cypriots, ending with a comment about President Nicos Anastasiades’ Easter message.

According to Tatar, it was “improper” of Anastasiades to call Turkish Cypriots citizens of the Republic of Cyprus.