Turkey may push for the recognition of the breakaway “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)” as a bargaining chip to allow Sweden and Finland to join NATO, the Express newspaper reported on Sunday.

A source close to TRNC President Ersin Tatar said that Tatar made a phone call to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asking that the status of the enclave be put on the table at the NATO talks, the Express said.

“I know the call was made and I understand that President Tatar received a positive answer,” the source said, according to the British newspaper. “Why not use any leverage we can in this situation? Greece and Cyprus have been using their veto on the EU to stop any progress being made and it is time this injustice was resolved.”

Cyprus has been divided since 1974 after Turkey occupied the northern third of the island in response to a brief Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military junta then ruling Greece. The TRNC is only recognized as a state by Turkey, which keeps around 30,000 troops there.

Senior British ministers are sympathetic to the idea of recognizing the TRNC, as well as allowing direct flights to northern Cyprus, which is currently only reachable from Turkish cities, the Express said.

Turkey has blocked Finland and Sweden’s application to join NATO this month, saying that the two countries first need to make guarantees about Turkey’s security, stop supporting Kurdish militant groups and hand over dozens of people wanted in Turkey on terrorism charges.

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At the weekend, Erdogan said ongoing talks with Swedish and Finnish officials have made little progress and Turkey’s opposition to their membership continued.

“As long as Tayyip Erdogan is at the head of the Republic of Turkey, we cannot say yes to countries that support terrorism to join NATO,” Erdogan said on his plane while returning from a trip to Azerbaijan, according to the NTV news channel.

“They have expectations, but they did not take steps they should have regarding Turkey, and they, especially Sweden, still let terrorists roam their streets, securing (the terrorists) with their own police,” he said.

“The international community’s failure to recognize Turkish Cyprus is a longstanding injustice and needs to be resolved. You cannot have a people and a country go unrecognized internationally for decades”, the source close to Tatar said.

Source: Ahval