ISTANBUL — Stating that Turkey doesn't have "another 50 years to waste" on the Cyprus problem, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, flanked by Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar, in Nicosia Tuesday laid out a series of proposals aimed at bolstering the breakaway state’s sovereignty that would likely raise tensions within Cypriot communities.

On the second day of a two-day visit to mark the anniversary of Turkey’s July 20, 1974, intervention in Cyprus, Erdogan reiterated his support for a two-state solution for the divided island after years of stalled UN-led reunification efforts to foster a bizonal federation.

“The new negotiation process can only be carried out between the two states,” Erdogan said in a joint press event Tuesday. “We are right, and we will defend our right to the end.”

The two leaders then announced controversial plans to further reopen an abandoned resort in Cyprus’ eastern buffer zone under the TRNC administration. Known as "Varosha" in Greek and "Maras" in Turkish, the ghost town was once the island’s top tourism destination but has been fenced off and empty since the 1974 military intervention, which has since left Cyprus divided along ethnic lines.