The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus does not exclude the transition to the status of an autonomous republic within Turkiye, Minister of Transport Erhan Arikli said on Tuesday, Ednews informs via Sputnik.

The minister believes that the United States and the European Union "do not want" the existence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, much less recognition of the republic.
 
"They want to make Northern Cyprus part of the EU... If the Turkish Cypriots disappear and Turkey leaves the island, the rich gas and oil fields will come under the control of the EU and America. They are already trying to develop gas fields on the southern Cyprus shelf, where there are billions of tons of gas and oil. Thus, they will never recognize the TRNC and will do everything possible to ensure that the republic is not recognized," Arikli told Ulusal TV.
 
According to him, the authorities of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) have already developed a thesis to counter this.
"We say that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus must exist, even if it is not recognized. And if we no longer have the opportunity to survive, then we will find an alternative. What alternative? The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus will then, like the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, be dependent on the homeland [Turkiye] in foreign policy and security issues. In internal affairs we will remain completely independent. An alternative to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is an autonomous Turkish republic," Arikli told the Ulusal Kanal broadcaster.