Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Saturday both called for a “just, lasting, and sustainable solution” to the Cyprus problem, as the north celebrated the 42nd anniversary of its unilateral declaration of independence.

Yilmaz was on the island to partake in the Turkish Cypriot celebrations, and said that “the Greek Cypriot side abolished the partnership state by force 62 years ago” in reference to the breakdown of the Republic of Cyprus’ initially foreseen constitutional order in 1963.

“The sincere will has always been on the Turkish Cypriot side in the negotiations, which have been going on since 1968,” he said, before adding that “the Greek Cypriot side has never accepted political equality” with the Turkish Cypriots.

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“The path to a just, lasting, and sustainable solutoin on the island lies in the recognition of the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people – their sovereign equality and equal international status,” he said.

Fidan, meanwhile, wrote in a post on social media that “a fair, lasting, and sustainable solution to the Cyprus problem, based on the realities on the island, can only be possible by recognising the inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, as equal co-owners of the island, to sovereign equality and equal international status”.

“The solution lies in the coexistence of two states on the island,” he said.

He added that Turkey will “always maintain our unbreakable ties with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and continue to stand by the Turkish Cypriots”.

Both men’s remarks come amid a slow softening of Turkey’s stance on the Cyprus problem in the aftermath of pro-reunification candidate Tufan Erhurman’s election as Turkish Cypriot leader last month, replacing Ersin Tatar, who had advocated for a two-state solution.

Erhurman had travelled to Ankara to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday, and while Erdogan did say that “we believe that the most realistic solution lies in the coexistence of two states on the island”, he did stop short of ruling out a return to negotiations based on a federal solution.

Instead, he said Turkey has “made it clear after the process collapsed in 2017” in the Swiss ski resort of Crans Montana, “when the Greek Cypriot side abandoned the negotiations, which have been ongoing since 1968 but have failed to reach a conclusion, that we will no longer continue simply for the sake of friendly exchanges”.

This rhetoric more closely aligns with that of Erhurman than his previous remarks, with Erhurman having said on Thursday  that “the whole world must know that the Turkish Cypriot people, who have always demonstrated their will for a solution and have never walked away from the table, intend to negotiate for a solution, not for the sake of negotiations”.

“No one should perceive the will of the Turkish Cypriot people for a solution as a will to sit at the table with a method which is not time-bound, is not result-orientated, and does not guarantee from the outset that there will be no return to the status quo if the Greek Cypriot leadership once again flips the table at the last minute,” he said.