FM demands two-state solution in FT interview
THE international community must accept the “undeniable reality” of “two separate national entities, two separate states, two separate democracies, two separate peoples” in Cyprus, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has said.
He made the comments in an interview with the UK’s Financial Times newspaper, that was published earlier this week.
Attempts to unify the island over the decades have been a “total failure” Mr Ertuğruloğlu was quoted as saying.
The FT report, by Ben Hall and Michael Peel, said that that TRNC has taken an “uncompromising line on possible reunification since Ersin Tatar, a staunch supporter of Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was elected president last year”.
It said that Mr Ertuğruloğlu’s “demand for formal partition” will “further strain EU ties with Turkey just as tensions have begun to ease”.
Referring to the two-state solution for Cyprus put forward by President Tatar, Mr Ertuğruloğlu told the FT that “this new road we have embarked on is not something we have tried and tested” while acknowledging that the Greek Cypriot government is unlikely to accept such a move.
“Do I expect them to genuinely try to turn a new page? No I do not,” he said. “But just because they may not be interested in turning a new page does not mean that we are going to abandon where we stand and fall in line with what they do.”
He added that a “confederation” between the two sides of Cyprus could be considered in the future once the “two states” start “cooperating in certain fields”.
Referring to the UN-led Cyprus talks which are due to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from April 27 to 29, Mr Ertuğruloğlu said: “We expect the United Nations to be honest and sincere and come out and openly say so at the end of this: is there common ground [for an agreement] or not?”
Asked about the UK’s possible role as a broker now that it has left the EU, the minister replied that the UK had not lived up to its responsibilities in the past and that Brexit did not mean that the UK will have a “free hand” to “correct its mistakes”.
The only country that the TRNC can trust is “motherland Turkey” he added.
Meanwhile the Foreign Ministry has slammed decisions taken by the European Union regarding the Eastern Mediterranean during its March 2021 summit.
“We deeply deplore to see that the decisions taken by the EU . . . once again adopt the unfortunate approach that disregards the rights of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and those of Motherland Turkey,” a written statement said.
“We also observe that the EU continues to extend unconditional support to the Greek Cypriot administration and Greece, under the pretext of ‘membership solidarity’.
“With these decisions, the EU confirms once again that it cannot be an impartial party. It is obvious that the EU, which failed to fulfil the promises it had extended to the Turkish Cypriots so far, cannot play a constructive role in resolving the Cyprus issue. Therefore, we consider that the EU has no place in the upcoming five-plusUN informal meeting [in Geneva]. . . As the Turkish Cypriot side, we emphasise once again that negotiations cannot be resumed from where they were left off and that we are ready for a sustainable agreement based on sovereign equality.”
During the European Council video conference on March 25, EU leaders highlighted the importance of a “cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship with Turkey” and “welcomed the recent de-escalation in the Eastern Mediterranean brought about by the discontinuation of illegal drilling activities, the resumption of bilateral talks between Greece and Turkey, and the forthcoming talks on the Cyprus question under the auspices of the United Nations”.
Under pressure from the Greek Cypriot authorities, however, the EU leaders called on Turkey to “abstain from renewed provocation or action breaching international law” or “otherwise, the EU is ready to use the instruments and options at its disposal to defend its interests and those of its member states as well as to uphold regional stability”.
Meanwhile Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades said this week that the developments concerning the EU’s possible involvement at the Geneva talks in just over three weeks’ time will become clearer following a meeting in Turkey between Mr Erdoğan and European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on April 6, reports said.
The Turkish Cypriot leadership insists that the EU should not be given “observer” status at the Geneva talks, which will also be attended by the representatives of the island’s “guarantor” powers Turkey, Greece and the UK.