It is “impossible” to abolish the United Kingdom’s bases in Cyprus without first solving the Cyprus problem, former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat said, amid ongoing rumblings from inside the government and even at the European Council of a will for the bases’ status to be renegotiated.

“It is impossible to resolve the issue of the bases without resolving the Cyprus problem. First of all, it is a great disrespect by the Greek Cypriot leadership to bring up the issue of the bases without consulting the Turkish Cypriots,” he told the Cyprus Mail.

“In fact, the goal is not to get rid of the bases, but to gain an advantage on the Cyprus problem,” he said.

“The Greek Cypriot leadership wants to say, ‘I am the state and I am the sole decision-maker on such matters’. It is impossible for the Turkish Cypriot side to accept this. Therefore, it would be best to address the issue by prioritising a solution to the Cyprus problem,” he said.

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Nonetheless, he said that once that Cyprus problem is resolved, “the British sovereign bases must certainly be removed”.

“Especially if used for offensive purposes, these bases inadvertently draw all Cypriots, Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, into tensions in which they are not involved. This confirms that the bases are truly remnants of the colonial era,” he said.

Asked what role the Turkish Cypriots can play in the potential abolition of the bases, he stressed that “the British sovereign bases emerged as part of the Republic of Cyprus, established with the signatures of Turkey, Greece, the UK, and the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities”.

“Therefore, it should not be forgotten that Turkish Cypriots, alongside the Greek Cypriot community or Greek Cypriot leadership, also has a say in these matters,” he said, before criticising President Nikos Christodoulides’ decision to demand talks on the bases’ future without first consulting the Turkish Cypriots.

“Mr Christodoulides’ bringing up of the British bases without considering the Turkish Cypriots is an act of disrespect towards the Turkish Cypriots. The correct approach would be to focus on resolving the Cyprus problem, to get rid of that issue, and then to negotiate with the UK,” he said.

Christodoulides had commented on the question of Turkish Cypriot involvement in talks on the bases’ future while attending an event to mark Greece’s independence day on Wednesday, and argued that it is the Turkish Cypriots who should solve the Cyprus problem before gaining access to a voice regarding the bases’ future.

“Our Turkish Cypriot compatriots can have a say on the negotiation of the bases after they return to the Republic of Cyprus,” he said.

These comments had drawn the ire of incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, who lambasted Christodoulides’ statements as “inconsistent, unfounded, and unserious”.

He said of Christodoulides’ comments that “fantastical ideas are flying around, beyond the limits of possibility and reason”, with these ideas ranging “from Nato membership to the issue of the British bases, and from there to Turkey recognising him!”

“If Christodoulides wants to learn from history, he … should look at 2004 or 2017,” he said.

His mentions of 2004 and 2017 are direct references to the referendum held to reunite Cyprus under the Annan plan, which was accepted by Turkish Cypriots and rejected by Greek Cypriots, and to the most recent round of formal negotiations on the Cyprus problem, held at Crans-Montana.