Without common ground it makes no sense to meet and restart a negotiation process, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said after meeting today with the UN Secretary General's personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar. “This is exactly what our policy means, and why’ it's important that (Ms. Olkin) gives importance to all these sensitivities in the report that she will write,” he said.
Mr. Tatar reiterated his position on the Cypriot resolution and on his terms for sovereign equality and equal international status as a condition for the resumption of negotiations.
The meeting Tatar-Holgin took place in the “presidential”. Ms. Holgin was accompanied by her advisor, Patti Londono.
In statements after the meeting, Mr. Tatar made statements in which he accused the Greek Cypriot side andhe claimed that there is a need for “a change of mentality and recognition of the rights of the Turkish Cypriots”. Furthermore, he referred to his meetings with the UN Secretary General, where he emphasized – as he said – the “need for a solution based on the cooperation of two states” .
He said he reminded Ms. Holgin “of her responsibilities and the substance of the approval we gave,” in her order. “I have made it clear that I will not allow pressure to shift the issue or bring the leaders into dialogue. I reminded that I won this election with a promise to my people and presenting a new policy. I emphasized that the new policy that we presented in Geneva about 3.5 years ago continues inexorably, and that the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his Government give us their full support in this matter,” added Mr. Tatar.
“During the assessment we made with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan, with whom I recently traveled to The Gambia and had the opportunity to meet, we reiterated that the inherent acquired rights we refer to, our sovereignty and equal international status are non-negotiable for us. We also pointed out that what we said in Geneva 3.5 years ago remains absolutely valid, that is, it should not be thought that we will sit at the negotiating table without meeting these criteria,” he said.
Continuing Mr. Tatar said he repeated to Ms. Holgin “that we are unmoved on this issue and we are not going to backstep. On July 5, 2024, six months will have passed. It becomes apparent that there is no common ground. What did we say? We asked for sovereign equality and equal international status. To satisfy these, it is necessary to take some steps. Our sovereignty must be clearly defined.”
He also claimed in his statements that “Although these are mentioned in the agreements of 1960, if we look at the current situation, with resolution 186 of March 4, 1964, the Republic of Cyprus continues to be treated as if it were the Government of the whole of Cyprus. After the Annan plan, despite saying no, they unilaterally joined the EU and became an EU member state.” All this, Mr. Tatar claimed, “allowed them to establish themselves on the other side with the rights they usurped and are taking full advantage of, while the Turkish Cypriots remained outside this system, facing all kinds of isolation, all kinds of embargoes, no direct flights, no direct trade. They don't even tolerate us meeting with world leaders, and before my visit to Gambia, the Greek Cypriot side wrote letters to the leadership of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, trying to block our activities and speeches. With this mentality, I wonder at which table we will sit and what we will solve?
As for resuming negotiations, Mr. Tatar said that “sitting at the negotiating table will not solve anything by itself. Tthe main thing is to change the mentality. The mentality that the Turkish Cypriot people in the northern part of Cyprus have equal legal status with the Greek people”. He added that “without common ground there is no point in meeting and re-starting a negotiation process. This is exactly what our policy means, and why? it is important that (Ms. Holgin) pay attention to all these sensitivities in the report she will write.”
Mr. Tatar also referred to the meetings he had with the UN Secretary General, saying that he mentioned that “the two peoples must negotiate freely and reach a mutually acceptable solution” and that “any agreement must be based on the cooperation of two states, according to the criteria we have set. Otherwise, any concept that attempts to return us to the situation before 1974 or even before 1960, will meet with our strong resistance”. without the acceptance of our new policy, our sovereign equality and our equal international status”. , said that “some NGOs express their views, but they only bind themselves. We are bound by our state, the decisions taken, the struggle of our people, our relations with Turkey”. everything that Cyprus has experienced in the last 50 years and to include it in the best possible way”. the Greek Cypriot side, taking advantage of its position, is essentially the main cause of the lack of a solution in Cyprus”, he concluded.
