Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has used his address to the United Nations General Assembly to renew Ankara’s demands over the Aegean and Cyprus, calling for disputes with Greece to be resolved under “international law” while simultaneously demanding international recognition of the breakaway administration in the occupied northern part of Cyprus.
Speaking at the UN, Erdoğan described the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean as areas where “issues” should be resolved through “good neighbourly relations” and in accordance with international law.
He also repeated Türkiye’s proposal for a regional conference aimed at bringing the countries involved together and establishing what Ankara describes as common ground.
But the most significant remarks came over Cyprus.
Erdoğan calls for recognition of the breakaway administration
Erdoğan directly called on the international community to recognise the self declared “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”, an entity recognised internationally only by Türkiye.
“I call on the international community to recognise the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ and to establish political, diplomatic and economic relations with it,” Erdoğan said.
He also demanded recognition of what he described as the “sovereign equality and equal international status” of Turkish Cypriots.
The demand directly challenges the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and the long standing UN framework for a settlement on the island. The Republic of Cyprus is a UN member state, while the breakaway administration in the north is recognised only by Türkiye.
Erdoğan also called for an end to what he described as the “inhuman isolation” of Turkish Cypriots.
His intervention comes as the Cyprus dispute remains one of the most contentious issues between Athens and Ankara, alongside competing positions over maritime boundaries and other issues in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Aegean message aimed at Greece
Erdoğan’s reference to international law comes against the backdrop of longstanding Greek Turkish disputes over maritime zones, territorial waters and other issues in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean.
Greece has said it is prepared to address the core outstanding maritime delimitation dispute through international law, while the two countries continue to disagree over the scope of the issues that should be negotiated. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has previously described the delimitation of the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone as the principal outstanding dispute between the two countries.
Erdoğan’s latest remarks therefore combine a call for dialogue with a renewed presentation of Ankara’s longstanding positions on Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Erdoğan launches attack over Gaza
The Turkish president also devoted a major part of his UN address to Gaza, launching a fierce attack on Israel and demanding greater international pressure.
Erdoğan described Gaza as the “world’s largest children’s cemetery” and accused Israel of pursuing what he called a “genocidal mentality”. Israel rejects accusations that it is committing genocide.
He called for the immediate reconstruction of Gaza and urged countries to increase pressure on Israel to end the war.
Erdoğan also renewed his call for reform of the UN Security Council, arguing that the current structure gives disproportionate power to its five permanent members.
With Greece, Cyprus and Türkiye continuing to navigate a fragile period of dialogue, Erdoğan’s UN speech placed Ankara’s positions on the Aegean and Cyprus firmly back on the international stage.
