Oğuzhan Hasipoğlu, Minister of Labour and Social Security and member of the National Unity Party (UBP), has sharply responded to Republican Turkish Party (CTP) MP Erkut Şahali's recent remarks on relations with Turkey. Şahali had stated that his party would not adopt a submissive stance toward Turkey, prompting Hasipoğlu to question the consistency of that position.
Hasipoğlu reminded Şahali of several episodes from the CTP's recent past, asking why the party had sought intensive contacts with senior AKP ministers if it was truly resolved against Ankara's influence. He also questioned why CTP felt the need to publicly declare "We are not the old CTP," and recalled the efforts made to establish ties with Ankara following the election of Tufan Erhürman as president.
The minister also brought up the Annan Plan period, during which the AKP government's support for the plan made Turkey highly valued in CTP circles. He further recalled former President Mehmet Ali Talat's past remark that he would have voted for the AKP.
"The issue, Erkut Bey, is not who you meet in Ankara, but whether you say one thing in Ankara and another in Cyprus," Hasipoğlu said, adding that attempting to knock on Ankara's doors while simultaneously projecting an anti-Turkey image in Cyprus—to the point of protesting the Turkish president—represented a serious credibility problem.
Hasipoğlu stressed that UBP's relationship with Turkey is rooted not in electoral calculations but in shared history, brotherhood, and the future of the state. "Our relationship with Turkey is not financial—it is vital. We will never compromise on our brotherhood, Turkey's guarantorship, or our sovereignty," he concluded.
