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.



Pro-Palestinian Activists Charged with Damaging Planes at UK Air Base are Held in Custody

An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
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Pro-Palestinian Activists Charged with Damaging Planes at UK Air Base are Held in Custody

An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo
An activist from Palestine Action sprays a military aircraft engine with red paint at RAF Brize Norton, to damage it, in Carterton, Britain, June 20, 2025, in this still image obtained from handout video. The group's action was in protest of British military assistance to Israel, claiming that they, "interrupted Britain's direct participation in the commission of genocide and war crimes across the Middle East", stating on their website. Palestine Action/Handout via REUTERS/File photo

Four pro-Palestinian protesters were held in custody Thursday after their first appearance in a London court on charges they damaged two Royal Air Force planes with red paint and crowbars.

The charges come after the group Palestine Action said two of its members entered RAF Brize Norton on June 20 and used electric scooters to approach two Voyager jets used for air-to-air refueling. The protesters used repurposed fire extinguishers to spray paint into the planes’ jet engines and caused further damage with crowbars, according to the group, which released video footage of the incident, The AP news reported.

The four, all between the ages of 22 and 35, are charged with conspiracy to commit criminal damage and conspiracy to enter a prohibited place for purposes prejudicial to the interests of the UK, counterterror police said in a statement. The Crown Prosecution Service will argue that the offenses have a “terrorist connection,” police said.

The group did not enter pleas in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. They were scheduled to appear July 18 at the Central Criminal Court.

Palestine Action has claimed responsibility for a series of incidents targeting Israeli defense contractors in the UK and other sites linked to the war in Gaza.

Following the incident at RAF Brize Norton, the government introduced legislation to ban Palestine Action as a terrorist organization. The measure, being debated in Parliament, would make it a criminal offense to belong to or support the group, with a maximum of 14 years in prison.

Palestine Action said its protests are designed to end international support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Planes from Brize Norton, 70 miles (112 kilometers) northwest of London, regularly fly to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, Britain’s main air base for operations in the Middle East.