Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday welcomed Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman to Bestepe, Turkey’s presidential palace, and stressed the importance of Turkish Cypriots rights in any solution to the Cyprus problem.

According to Turkey’s presidential communications directorate, “bilateral relations between Turkey and the TRNC, as well as regional issues, were discussed during the meeting”, while Erdogan said he was “pleased” that the Turkish Cypriots were represented at the Organisation of Turkic States summit which took place in Ankara on Friday.

“President Erdogan stated that no process which does not protect the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots can be the key to a lasting solution in Cyprus, and that Turkey will always continue to stand by the TRNC,” Turkey’s presidential communications directorate said.

Erhurman made no statement following the meeting.

Friday’s meeting is Erdogan’s first public intervention on the Cyprus problem since last month’s United Nations general assembly, when he said, “I call upon the international community to recognise and establish political, diplomatic, and economic relations with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.

He had at the time added that “the inhumane isolation to which [the Turkish Cypriots] have been subjected must finally come to an end”.

Christodoulides accused Erdogan of ‘hypocrisy of the highest form’

This speech prompted a response from Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who used his address to accuse Erdogan of “hypocrisy of the highest form”.

“References to international law, to the respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states, to illegal occupation, to the drama of refugees. Yet, in relation to Cyprus, Turkey is doing exactly the opposite. Hypocrisy of the highest form,” he said.

He said that Erdogan had, during his own speech, “quoted extensively from the UN charter”, but stressed that “politicians are judged not by their words, but their deeds.”

“Mr Erdogan, if you want to quote from the charter, you must first apply it. The UN security council has established the framework for the settlement of the Cyprus problem. That framework, of a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, remains the only basis on which a comprehensive settlement must be reached,” he said.