Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Thursday met the United Kingdom’s Minister of State for Europe Stephen Doughty in London.

He is carrying out a visit to the UK and met Doughty at the Palace of Westminster, the UK’s parliament building, with the meeting focused on the Cyprus problem.

“The meeting was very productive. I had the opportunity to express my views and concerns regarding recent developments. I have always supported dialogue and believe that a bridge should be built between the past and the future, even if there is no formal solution,” he said.

He stressed that “mutual respect is essential” for this end, and said that “the Greek Cypriot side still sees itself as the sole legal government of the island, while the Turkish Cypriot people have their own state, democracy, and the state institutions”.

These institutions, he said, “cannot be ignored”.

“Any future solution must be based on two states, on sovereign equality, and on equal international status. After 60 years of unsuccessful efforts to find a federal solution, it is time to turn a new page based on cooperation and good neighbourly relations,” he said.

He then explained that his meeting with Doughty centred on “preparations” for the next enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, which is set to take place in New York next month, and also made reference to the previous meeting, which was held in Geneva in March.

“In Geneva, I expressed serious concerns about the hostile and intimidating practices undertaken by the Greek Cypriot leadership against my people regarding property. As soon as I returned to the island from Geneva, these practices increased, including arrests and other legal pressure, directly targeting our economy,” he said.

These arrests, he added, “undermine efforts” made by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to “create new momentum” on the matters discussed in Geneva.

He stressed that the Immovable Property Commission (IPC) has been “approved by the European Court of Human Rights [ECtHR]”, and added that it “provides a legal solution” to the issue of property.

“Despite this, the Greek Cypriot leadership has escalated tensions by carrying out arrests and amending its penal code to expand criminal liability,” he said.

He then touched on the matter of crossing points, saying the Greek Cypriot side is pushing for “corridors from the south to the south” of the island, and that the suggestions for crossing points put forward by the Greek Cypriot side “do not really constitute crossing points between the north and the south”.

“I reiterated the importance of opening new crossing point and my proposal to open crossing points in Mia Milia and in Louroujina,” he said of his meeting with Doughty on Thursday, with Mia Milia located in the east of Nicosia and Louroujina between the capital and Larnaca.

“This proposal is important to reduce traffic congestion at Ayios Dhometios,” he said.

Previously, a crossing point connecting Athienou with the Nicosia suburb of Aglandjia via the north, and a road through the Turkish Cypriot exclave of Kokkina, in the island’s northwest, had been put forward by the Greek Cypriot side.

He then said the UK must “review its policy towards the Turkish Cypriot people”, adding that “as a guarantor country, the UK has a legal and moral responsibility to treat both sides equally”.