In the recent Northern Cyprus presidential election, an overwhelming majority of the Turkish Cypriot electorate rejected incumbent Ersin Tatar, backed by the Turkish government, and his hard-line two-state rhetoric.
Opposition leader Tufan Erhürman’s landslide victory has revived hopes for a settlement on the divided island.
Cyprus is an independent country and a member of both the United Nations and the European Union. But it’s divided, with the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus in the south and a self-declared state in the north, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, recognized only by Turkey.
