The Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign ministry’ on Friday dismissed President Nikos Christodoulides’ assertion that there is a “window of opportunity” for a resumption of negotiations aimed at solving the Cyprus problem before the end of the year, describing his claim as “far from the truth”.
It added that the idea of such a “window of opportunity” constitutes “an empty perception operation aimed at misleading international public opinion”.
“The stance of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is clear and unwavering. The Greek Cypriot side, however, continues its archaic mentality of not recognising the Turkish Cypriot people as equal partners and claiming to be the sole owner of the island,” it said.
It added that “the model, tried for more than half a century and which has collapsed due to the Greek Cypriot side, its maximalist demands, and its approach of ignoring the Turkish Cypriot people’s inherent rights, is completely exhausted”.
“Expecting different results with the same methods is nothing but a wase of time,” it said.
It then said that it has “shared with all relevant parties that a solution on the island is only possible with the acceptance of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus”.
While this is the ‘foreign ministry’ and ‘minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu’s position, it is not shared by Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, who has instead published a four-point proposal which he says must be fulfilled before negotiations commence.
Those four points, sometimes referred to as “preconditions” – a term Erhurman resents – foresee that the Greek Cypriot side accept political equality, time-limit negotiations, and preserve all past agreements, and that the UN guarantee that embargoes placed on the Turkish Cypriots be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side leaves the negotiating table again.
Nonetheless, the ‘ministry’ on Friday said that “a new process will only be possible if the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognised”.
“An agreement between the two sides on the island is only possible with the existence of two independent, sovereign states living side by side and the acceptance of this reality,” it added.
Like the insistence on “sovereign equality and equal international status”, this is not Erhurman’s position. Erhurman is known to favour a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
The ‘ministry’ also added that “the attempts by the Greek Cypriot administration to create artificial time pressure or a timetable based on [Guterres’] term in office are meaningless to the Turkish Cypriot side”.
“As all sides know, there is no basis for starting negotiations. Therefore, the Greek Cypriot administration’s attempts to mislead the international community into believing that negotiations will begin are far from reality,” it said.
It added that “taking into account the realities on the island, the international community must take concrete steps swiftly and without delay to lift the unjust and illegal isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot people for more than 60 years”.
“The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, with the full support of its motherland, the Republic of Turkey, is determined to create a fair, lasting, and sustainable environment of cooperation on the island and in the region,” it said.
Christodoulides had said on Thursday that there exists “window of opportunity” for the resumption of talks between now and the end of the year, when Guterres will retire from his position as UN secretary-general.
He has also been insistent that Guterres has undertaken a “new initiative” with the aim of bringing about a resumption of formal negotiations, though the question of when a “new initiative” on the Cyprus problem may be undertaken has been ongoing for weeks.
Christodoulides’ position is that is “new initiative” is already ongoing, but Erhurman said last month that such an initiative will begin in July, following the conclusion of Cyprus’ six-month term as the holder of the Council of the European Union’s rotating presidency.
UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin is set to visit the island and hold separate meetings with both Christodoulides and Erhurman on June 8.
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