The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which uses the Turkish lira as its official unit of currency, is considering abandoning the Lira for another currency following its record-breaking fall in value, independent news site T24 said.

“There are various proposals. Radical proposals such as moving to another currency or fixing exchange rates are on the table,” Prime Minister Tufan Erhüman said, noting that the globally unrecognised statelet had structural economic problems, not all of which it could resolve on its own.

“Sadly, we have problems that are structural but that we have difficulty in combatting,” Erhüman said.

“In the light of developments in the TRNC and the world, the prices of petrol and foreign exchange have risen, the Turkish lira has lost its value and although we might flatter ourselves as being able to affect that, it is impossible. We are continually organising meetings with our ministers about the economy. Certain changes that might be considered very radical may come onto the agenda.”

However, he said, he was in serious talks with Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ to find a solution to the lira crisis.

A move by the TRNC to using the Euro has been a topic of discussion for a long time on the island, T24 noted.