The Republican Turkish Party (, CTP) is a social-democratic political party in Northern Cyprus. The party was founded in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, a lawyer, in opposition to the leadership of Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş. On 30 June 2008, the Republican Turkish Party became a consultative member of the Socialist International (voted in by all members except the Greek Cypriot Movement for Social Democracy). It became a full member of the organization in 2014. Policies and ideology The CTP is a social democratic political party, positioned on the centre-left on the political spectrum. The party espoused a pro-Soviet stance during the Cold War, especially under the leadership of Özker Özgür. However, the party never described itself as explicitly communist. Under Özgür, the party held rapprochement meetings with the Greek-Cypriot dominated leftist party of Cyprus, the Progressive Party of Working People (AKEL). Under Mehmet Ali Talat, the party shifted towards its current moderate leftist position. On the Cyprus dispute, the CTP traditionally favours a pragmatic approach, and supports the reunification of the island. During the presidency of former CTP leader Mehmet Ali Talat, the party led reunification talks with the Republic of Cyprus. History 20th century The Republican Turkish Party was established in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, in opposition to Rauf Denktaş, and later his National Unity Party (UBP). The CTP was further vocally opposed to Fazıl Küçük, who served as the first Vice President of the Republic of Cyprus. The CTP was led by Özker Özgür between 1976 and 1996; Özgür also served as Deputy prime minister in the aftermath of the 1993 legislative election. 21st century Mehmet Ali Talat became party leader in 1996, taking over from Özgür. Under his leadership, the party lost 7 seats in the 1998 elections, becoming the fourth largest party in Northern Cyprus. However, in 2003, he led the party to victory, scoring over 35% of the vote, and taking 19 of the 50 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. The following year, Talat formed a government and became prime minister on 13 January 2004. He stepped down in 2005, after winning that year's presidential election; he went on to serve a single term as President of Northern Cyprus, until 2010. During his presidency, Talat conducted weekly meetings with the Greek Cypriot president, Demetris Christofias. The two leaders discussed issues such as power-sharing, armed forces, land ownership, and other problems