Turkish parliament speaker Numan Kurtulmus on Tuesday told a visiting contingent of over 150 Turkish Cypriot mukhtars that there is “no other way” to find a solution to the Cyprus problem other than via a two-state solution.

All 242 Turkish Cypriot mukhtars had been invited to Turkey to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, though between 80 and 100 of them elected not to travel.

They are said to have rejected the invitation as the date of the meeting is too close to the Turkish Cypriot leadership election, which is set to take place next month.

Kurtulmus hosted the mukhtars at Turkey’s parliament in Ankara, and told them of his adoration for northern Cyprus.

“The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, born and raised before our eyes, is a part of us, a soul which belongs to us, a country which belongs to us,” he said, before telling the mukhtars that they “represent the national identity of the Turkish Cypriot people”.

“Since the establishment of the Turkish Cypriot state, the TRNC, it has been demonstrated on every occasion that the Turkish Cypriots are the ones who desire peace and coexistence in Cyprus. We have always talked about a two-state solution, the existence of two common peoples, and the existence of two independent identities,” he said.

Speaking about the 2004 Annan plan referendum, he said it was “accepted by the Turkish Cypriots” but that “the Greek Cypriots, due to the arrogance they gained from their supporters, destroyed it”.

As such, he said, “today, it is crystal clear on all international platforms that there is no other solution in Cyprus than a two-state solution”.

“There is no other way. The next phase for the TRNC … is to gain greater international recognition,” he said, before adding, “I wholeheartedly believe that in the coming period, the international recognition of the TRNC will rise tremendously, and Cyprus will rightfully take its rightful place among the family of nations”.

“We want peace on the island, we want to live together on the island, we want the Greek Cypriots to live in peace, and we want the island to be tranquil, But while we do want this, we will never abandon our national identity.”

Erdogan regularly holds meetings with mukhtars from across Turkey, saying in one such meeting in 2022 that since being elected as the country’s president for the first time, he had met more than 38,000 mukhtars.