Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz and the country’s ambassador in Nicosia Ali Murat Basceri on Friday night attended a campaign stop for Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar organised by the UBP, the largest of the north’s three ruling political parties, in the Karpass peninsula village of Yialousa.

Yilmaz had arrived on the island late on Friday afternoon, with the stated aim of assessing progress regarding the north’s new mobile migration management centres and the digitalisation of Turkish Cypriot bureaucracy, and also appeared on the guest list for what the UBP described as a “great people’s meeting” in Yialousa.

He made a speech at the event, insisting that Turkey’s approach in Cyprus “is not desk work, but fieldwork”.

“We do not just sit in Ankara and think, ‘what is good or bad for Cyprus?’. We meet with President Ersin Tatar every time we come. We meet with the prime minister, ministers, public institution officials, and most importantly, with you, the public, and civil society, on various occasions,” he said.

He also spoke on the matter of the Cyprus problem, saying that “the Republic of Turkey fully supports the two-state, realistic, and fair vision put forward by President Ersin Tatar, and we will continue to do so”.

“We are in difficult times. We must be strong and united. This is not a time when we can rely on the compassion of others. We will be united, we will be strong. We will protect our rights and our laws to the very end,” he said.

Tatar also gave a speech at the event and said that “the fundamental principle is the state, the republic”.

“The fundamental principle is the further entrenchment of the two-state system through the policies being pursued. The Turkish Cypriot people have come so far with the absolute right to self-determination. We will never accept Turkey’s withdrawal from the island or the termination of its status as a guarantor power,” he said.

“This is the game being played by the other side. For them, the Cyprus issue is a matter of Turkish occupation. Against a mentality which views the issue with a very narrow perspective, we have now put forward a new policy. We are able to continue this policy with stability. The Turkish nation is behind us.”

He added that Turkish Cypriots “did not come to this day easily”, and that as such, “if there is to be an agreement in Cyprus, the TRNC, as a state, must be part of that agreement”.

Earlier in the day, Yilmaz had given a press conference at the north’s Ercan (Tymbou) airport in which he had pledged his support for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem.

“We believe that a just, lasting, and sustainable solution in Cyprus is only possible in accordance with the realities on the island. For this, first of all, the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people must be accepted by the international community,” he said.

“As [Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan] has repeatedly stated, if there is to be a new negotiation process, it will from now on not be conducted between two communities, but between two sovereign and equal states.”

He added that “the motherland and guarantor, Turkey, will stand by the Turkish Cypriots”, and that “we will continue to strongly support the two-state solution put forward by [Tatar] and defend the rights and laws of the TRNC”.

The Turkish Cypriot leadership election is set to take place on October 19, with Tatar to be challenged by Tufan Erhurman, who is advocating for a return to negotiations based on a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.