King’s Speech

Lord Sharkey Excerpts

Wednesday 15th November 2023 Lords Chamber

[Lord Sharkey (LD)]

My Lords, I join other noble Lords in supporting Israel’s absolute right to defend itself and condemning the barbaric atrocities of the terrorist organisation Hamas. I echo Mr Blinken in saying that it matters greatly how Israel defends itself. International law must be respected.

I will focus on a different part of the eastern Mediterranean region: the island of Cyprus. I declare an interest as a vice-chair of the APPG for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The island of Cyprus has been divided for 60 years and the north has been under embargo for all that time. Through no fault of their own, the people of Northern Cyprus have suffered and continue to suffer exclusion from the international community and embargoes on their trade. Over the last half century, there have been many attempts at reunification in which His Majesty’s Government, as a guarantor power, have played a major supporting role. All these attempts have been based on the adoption of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, and all have failed. The Greek Cypriots continue to propose variations of this model. The Turkish Cypriots, not surprisingly, now reject this model entirely and propose instead a two-state solution, accepting what has been the de facto situation for over 50 years. Indeed, the current President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Ersin Tatar, was elected to his office on exactly this platform.

The two sides on the island appear further apart than ever, while the north becomes poorer, remains under embargo and is isolated from world trade and finance. In the Greek Cypriot south, GDP per caput stands at around $34,000. In the Turkish Cypriot north, it is half that, at around $17,000. The north’s economy depends very largely on subventions from Turkey. Turkish inflation now stands at 65%, with a consequently disastrous effect on the north’s economy.

There is also a growing threat to the distinctive Turkish Cypriot identity and culture because of the very large influx of Russians and mainland Turks. In August, the Times reported the presence of 50,000 Russians who had moved to Northern Cyprus to

“dodge President Putin’s mobilisation or avoid sanctions”.

It noted:

“Since 1974 the Turkish Cypriot population has been gradually overwhelmed by settlers from the mainland, who tend to be more nationalist and have helped to tie the island to Ankara. The Russian arrivals have swollen the population of the north by a sixth”.


In his report on the Cyprus issue of 5 July this year, the UN Secretary-General said:

“The continued absence of substantive dialogue on issues related to the peace process between the two sides continues to deepen the differences of views on the way forward … At the same time, the division between the communities also continues to grow wider”.


This was dramatically illustrated a month later by a serious clash between Turkish Cypriot security personnel and UN peacekeepers over a Turkish Cypriot attempt to build a road to connect villages divided between the territories. This was potentially a very serious incident, and it is encouraging to note how quickly and peacefully it was resolved. The Cyprus Mail noted that this was

“a perfect example of a win-win arrangement, both sides getting what they wanted out of it. There are no grounds for either to feel hard done by”.

Can the Minister say whether lessons were learned from this incident, of which I know he is aware, and its peaceful settlement may be applied to other important local difficulties?

Finally, I will raise once again the question of Ercan airport in Northern Cyprus. We could help the economically vital flow of tourists from the UK to Northern Cyprus by allowing direct flights and removing the requirement for passengers to deplane with all their baggage in Istanbul to undergo an additional round of security checks. This used to be possible until the UK Government imposed additional restrictions some years ago. I am told that these restrictions exist because the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is not a recognised country. Taiwan is not a recognised country either, but direct flights from the UK and many other countries are allowed and frequent. Why is Ercan different? I would be grateful if the Minister would agree to meet to discuss a resolution to that problem. It would not solve the Cyprus problem, but it would bring some economic relief to the north and demonstrate our continued willingness to provide practical help.