Ersin Tatar, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, is urging for a two State solution to end the 60-year dispute over Cyprus. Tatar believes that the hydrocarbon reserves in the surrounding areas may not be exploited if a solution is not reached. His proposal suggests that both sides of the island should remain permanently divided with equal sovereign status. However, Tatar’s critics argue that this plan may turn the isolated TRNC into an economic colony of Ankara, which may threaten the North’s prized secular status. The TRNC already receives at least €270m a year from Ankara, and Tatar warns that if the international community does not engage with his plan and lift the embargo on the TRNC, it will have to integrate even more closely with Ankara. The value of the hydrocarbons in the east Mediterranean was time-limited, and if the status of the TRNC remains deadlocked, the hydrocarbons risked being left untapped as governments moved on to greener technology such as solar.