Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor Mehmet Harmanci on Wednesday told United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin that the idea of a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem is an “illusion” and “devoid of any legal or political basis”.

“Ersin Tatar, with his illusion of a ‘two-state solution’, which is devoid of any legal or political basis, and his refusal to sit at the negotiating table, has created a space for Nikos Christodoulides to play his game alone,” he said.

He then added that Tatar’s stance on the Cyprus problem has “also served to strengthen the far right in the south and silence the forces of peace”.

Additionally, he said the lack of productive negotiations towards a solution to the Cyprus problem, and what he described as “the failure of even a negotiation process limited to confidence-building measures to produce a fair result which impacts the lives of the communities” has “further deepened despair regarding the peace process”.

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To this end, he drew attention to the matter of crossing points, saying that “not only has there been no agreement to open new crossing points, but we see that the Ayios Dhometios crossing point is being used as a tool of retaliation and punishment in response to issues such as property”.

He added that the issue of property “can only be resolved through a comprehensive solution” to the Cyprus problem.

Then, he moved onto the issue of the “mixed-marriage problem” – people born to one Turkish Cypriot parent and one non-Cypriot parent, typically a Turkish national, who are denied citizenship of the Republic of Cyprus because the authorities deem their parent was in Cyprus illegally.

“The usurpation of the citizenship rights of Turkish Cypriot children born from mixed marriages is an undisputed violation of constitutional and international human rights. Reversing this practice is crucial for both building intercommunal trust and re-strengthening the Turkish Cypriot community’s belief in the peace process and its will to fight,” he said.

He also said the international community “must support innovative and applicable ideas to rebuild trust and trigger peace processes”, and to this end, highlighted “the role local governments can play”.

“Nicosia has played a driving role in the cooperation and rapprochement of the two communities since the 1970s. For this to be taken further, dialogue and cooperation between the municipalities of southern and northern Nicosia must be institutionalised in a way which provides the support and legitimacy of the international community,” he said.

Holguin is in Cyprus to hold meetings with both President Nikos Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar ahead of a planned tripartite meeting the pair will hold with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on September 27.

The tripartite meeting will take place during the UN’s “high-level week” – the week in which world leaders will make speeches to the UN’s general assembly.

Earlier that week, Christodoulides will address the general assembly on September 24.

After this year’s general assembly, a further enlarged meeting, involving Cyprus’ two sides, the UN, and the island’s three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and the United Kingdom, is set to take place before the end of the year, likely after the Turkish Cypriot leadership election on October 19.

That election will see Tatar be challenged by former Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Tufan Erhurman, who advocates for a return to negotiations based on a federal solution.

Harmanci has endorsed Erhurman’s election campaign.