Russia’s move to establish consular office in Northern Cyprus

Following the news that Russia will establish a consular office in the territory of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Greek Cypriots are in a distress asking whether the TRNC is recognized by Russia.

“We will begin providing consular services in the northern part of the city of Nicosia in the near future. We will be working on a regular basis,” a source said to Russian news agency TASS on Aug. 9, stirring a debate.

Currently, many countries, notably the UK and Germany, have “non-diplomatic” but de facto diplomatic offices in northern Nicosia or in the buffer zone to meet consular and other diplomatic requests of their citizens living in TRNC territory. All of these offices are liaison offices operating under embassies accredited to the Republic of Cyprus south of Nicosia. States that do not have embassies in the Republic of Cyprus, on the other hand, try to address the problems of their citizens through liaison offices operating under their embassies in Ankara or through diplomats they send to the TRNC periodically as needed.

With nearly 100,000 foreign students from more than 60 countries, mostly from Turkey, attending its educational institutions, the TRNC has become a university state. In addition, the need for consular services becomes essential due to the problems of people who come to the island on student visas and get involved in various petty crimes. In particular, one of the main tasks of the Ankara embassies of some African countries is the problems faced by their citizens in the TRNC.

Cyprus, Yeni İskele: Like a Russian town

There was an interesting article in the conservative Cyprus Mail newspaper last week about an “important town” in Northern Cyprus, Yeni Iskele or Trikomo, known as the birthplace of the founder of the Greek terrorist organization EOKA, Giorgos Grivas. The article drew attention to the fact that although the old town has been preserved, almost like a village, the area, which is seen as the gateway to the Karpaz peninsula, high-rise buildings of 15 or more storeys, which can be considered as visual pollution, visibly surrounded the town especially in the areas close to the sea. It was also stated that many of these constructions were sold to mostly Russian and Israeli citizens at the project stage.

Just like Kyrenia, especially the town of Beylerbeyi, formerly Bellapais, or the village of Karaman, formerly Karmi, famous for its bars, taverns and English road signs, the new urban area of Yeni İskele is full of Hebrew and Russian shop names. The rapid increase in the number of Russian nationals in the TRNC – which President Ersin Tatar says is close to 50,000 – is thought to be driven as much by the new wave of “cheap investment” in a Mediterranean island, which has become fashionable, as by those trying to avoid military service due to the “semi-mobilization” declared after the Ukraine war.

Tatar: Consular service is not recognition

TRNC President Ersin Tatar confirmed that Russia has contacted the TRNC about opening a representative office.

“Although this step taken by Russia to provide services to its citizens here does not mean recognition of the TRNC, it shows that its existence is acceptable,” Tatar said.

The president said that although the step of Russia which is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, does not mean “recognition” and will aim to solve the problems of its own citizens, like many countries that have citizens in the north of the island and these citizens need consular services.

“With the representative office to be opened, Russians living in the TRNC will be able to easily carry out consular procedures. The USA and the UK also have offices here. We think such structures will be positive. We want more Russians to come to our country, invest, and revitalize tourism. The TRNC state looks positively to all legal requests in accordance with the law,” he added.

Punishment for Ukrainian support?

There is another interpretation of these developments on the island.

Despite the European Union’s (EU) decision to provide all kinds of support to Ukraine, many US weapons and ammunition have not had the desired effect for the Ukrainian army, which is accustomed to Russian weapons. Allegedly, the Greek Cypriot administration, which prefers Kiev over Moscow in its traditional Orthodox solidarity, provided the Ukrainian army with a significant amount of Russian weapons and ammunition in stock and in use, as requested by the EU. Again, Russia allegedly got angry at this situation and took the consulate step. It is allegedly waiting for the repercussions of this step for direct flights.

It is very likely that the panic on the Greek side is due to this possibility.