Turkey’s Erdogan Rules out Concessions on Cyprus Visit

Workers prepare for the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). (AFP)
Workers prepare for the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). (AFP)
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Turkey’s Erdogan Rules out Concessions on Cyprus Visit

Workers prepare for the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). (AFP)
Workers prepare for the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Monday to make no “concession” as he pressed for a two-state solution for Cyprus, during a visit to the divided eastern Mediterranean island.

Erdogan began a two-day visit Monday to the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), whose independence is only recognized by Ankara.

The island has been divided since 1974, when Turkey seized the north, in response to a coup orchestrated by an Athens-backed junta seeking to annex the island to Greece.

Erdogan, whose visit coincides with the 47th anniversary of the invasion, told a special session of the breakaway northern region’s parliament he firmly rejected international efforts to reunify the island.

“On this island, there are two states and two peoples,” Erdogan said, in comments carried live on television in Turkey.

“We do not, and cannot make, any concession on that,” he said, in reference to Turkish Cypriot TRNC leader Ersin Tatar’s push at UN-brokered talks for international recognition.

In April, a UN summit failed to reach a deal aimed at resuming talks that stalled in 2017.

Tatar told that meeting he would only negotiate on the terms of a two-state solution.

His stance was flatly rejected by the majority Greek-speaking Republic of Cyprus, a European Union member with effective control over the southern two-thirds of the island.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this month Brussels would “never accept” a two-state solution for island.

Erdogan said past experiences “taught everyone clearly that Greek Cypriots have no intention of establishing a partnership state” comprised of two equal halves.

In 2004, Greek Cypriots rejected a UN plan for the creation of a loose federation on the island, pointing out that it did not include a clear right for Greek Cypriots to return to the occupied north.

The majority of Turkish Cypriots voted for the scheme.

On Tuesday, Erdogan is expected to review some of the thousands of Turkish troops in the breakaway north in the abandoned beach resort of Varosha, which the 1974 invasion emptied of its Greek Cypriot inhabitants.



Blast at Los Angeles Sheriff's Facility Leaves 3 Dead

A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake
A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake
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Blast at Los Angeles Sheriff's Facility Leaves 3 Dead

A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake
A Los Angeles County sheriff's officer stands watch as a police vehicle passes by, while officers block the road to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Biscailuz Center Academy Training facility,in East Los Angeles, California, US July 18, 2025. REUTERS/ Mike Blake

An explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility has killed three deputies, local media reported on Friday, though officials have yet to confirm any deaths.

A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said an explosion occurred at the Biscailuz Center Academy Training in East Los Angeles. The spokesperson said the cause was under investigation and that they were not yet ready to confirm any deaths or injuries, Reuters reported.

The Los Angeles Times newspaper, citing unnamed law enforcement sources, reported that three deputies were killed in the blast, which took place when a bomb squad moved some explosives.

Hilda Solis, who serves on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, said in a written statement that "my heart goes out to the families, friends, and colleagues of the three individuals who lost their lives in what appears to have been a devastating explosion."

US Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media that she had spoken with Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna along with US Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli "about what appears to be a horrific incident that killed at least three at a law enforcement training facility in Los Angeles."

Bondi said that federal agents were at the scene and working to learn more.