Opposition Turkish Cypriot leadership candidate Tufan Erhurman on Monday said “nothing has been done in five years” regarding the Cyprus problem since Ersin Tatar was elected to the role.

“What is the mission of the presidency? To conduct negotiations. That is not happening. Confidence-building measures have not been implemented. The Turkish Cypriot people could not be brought together with the rest of the world. Nothing has been done in five years. The failure to do anything has caused us to regress in many areas,” he told Ada TV.

Speaking about the forthcoming enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, which is set to begin in New York on Wednesday, he said there is “an expectation that one or two crossing points will be opened”, and added, “I hope they achieve this”.

“Up until now, when crossing points were being opened, there was no need to go to Geneva or to New York. After all these years without dialogue, it is important for the parties to at least come together. It is better to have dialogue, even at this level, than to have no diplomacy at all,” he said.

He then offered criticism for Tatar’s insistence on not engaging in negotiations until the Greek Cypriot side accepts the north’s “sovereign equality and equal international status”, and for the Republic of Cyprus’ foreign policy.

“Everyone knows that Tatar’s position means ‘no solution is a solution’. The status quo is being maintained. However, there are some developments on the ground. The Greek Cypriot side is signing cooperation agreements with some countries. These developments directly impact our lives,” he said.

Pressed to clarify this, he pointed out that “the issue of shelters has become one of the most serious issues on the country’s agenda”, with both sides of Cyprus engaging their respective civil defence organisations to find, record, and make public the locations of underground shelters during an exchange of missiles between Iran and Israel last month.

He also said that “agreements on security and hydrocarbons in the south came up”, and that “the issue of electricity interconnection arose at every opportunity” in the Republic’s relevant foreign contacts.

“So, what have we done? The status quo has produced certain consequences which are not in our favour. We have not taken any steps on any issue. We have withdrawn, and there has been no communication with the world,” he said.

He then criticised for Tatar for “failing to address” problems faced by Turkish Cypriots who have one parent from Turkey, who are in many cases denied citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus.

“He cannot address this issue because he defends his two-state theory. Yet, under conditions of deadlock, we must demand our existing constitutional rights to the fullest extent,” he said, before moving on to the matter of what he believes the role of Turkish Cypriot leader should entail.

“I believe the presidency has four fundamental functions. If there are negotiations, he is the one who conducts them. If there are no negotiations, he is the person who works to pave the way through confidence-building measures. He is the person who strives to connect the Turkish Cypriot people with the world. He is the person who leads the way in solving the problems people face.”

He added, “what I see on the ground is that our people are demanding representation”.

“There is no debate within the Turkish Cypriot people about where they were born, where their parents are from. The Turkish Cypriot people clearly see a problem with representation. The demand for change is being voiced loudly. October is the month of change.”

The next Turkish Cypriot leadership elections are set to take place on October 19, with Tatar and Erhurman the frontrunning candidates at present.