The memorial service for Denktash, who died on Jan. 13 at the age of 88, was being held just days ahead of a summit in New York that could decide the fate of peace talks over the ethnically split island in the eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, cabinet ministers and opposition leaders planned to join a funeral procession through the Turkish Cypriot side of the divided city of Nicosia to pay their last respects.

The funeral procession, with the casket borne by a gun carriage, was due to leave the Turkish Cypriot presidential palace for noon prayers at the historic Selimiye Mosque, a former cathedral, before the burial.

Denktash left public office in 2005 but remained an implacable opponent of reunification with the Greek Cypriots.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called leaders of Cyprus’s estranged Greek and Turkish communities for talks at a secluded Long Island estate from Jan. 22-24 in search of a way to put a stalled reunification process back on track.

Turkey had held three days of national mourning for Denktash, founder of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus — a tiny statelet in northern Cyprus only recognized by Ankara.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when Turkish troops invaded in response to a short-lived coup by Greek Cypriots backed by Greece’s then-military junta. In 1983, Denktash announced the formation of a breakaway Turkish Cypriot state.

“He was a man of history... For us, there is no turning back from what he created,” Erdil Nami, a 70-year-old retired Turkish Cypriot businessman, said as he prepared to attend the funeral.

“I felt as if he would never die. When he did die, I cried as if I’d lost my own father,” supermarket owner Fetin Korman, 48, said. “We are like orphans now.”

Few tears were shed on the Greek Cypriot side of Cyprus, where Denktash was reviled as one of the main orchestrators of the division of the island, and the official reaction was muted.

“He was consistent to his vision, which was partition,” said Cypriot President Demetris Christofias, engaged in reunification talks with one of Denktash’s successors, Dervis Eroglu. “Obviously we do not agree, but it would be a mistake right now to make sweeping assessments and start accusing Denktash.”

Denktash was a firm believer in Turkish Cypriot independence and eschewed the idea of a Cypriot identity. He once famously said the only Cypriot natives on the island were its donkeys.

The Turkish Cypriot enclave in the north is heavily subsidised by Ankara, and Turkish forces remain stationed there.

In 2004, the European Union admitted Cyprus, run by an internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government that has since hindered Turkey’s efforts to join the EU.

Turkey earlier encouraged the reunification process as part of its effort to gain entry to the EU, but as its membership bid has ground to a virtual halt, Ankara’s patience has worn thin.

The dispute flared anew late last year when Cyprus began offshore gas exploration, prompting Turkey to deploy warships in the eastern Mediterranean to protect the interests of Turkish Cypriots.

Turkey has warned it will suspend relations with the EU presidency when Cyprus takes over the role, which rotates on a six-month basis, in the second half of this year.