Top US official visits President
Discussions were held on the ‘Cyprus issue, confidence building measures’
A SENIOR government official from the United States met with President Ersin Tatar on Monday.
Erika Olson, the US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who oversees American foreign policy for the Southern Europe and Caucasus region, paid a visit to Mr Tatar at his offices in Lefkoşa, as part of a series of engagements on the island. She was accompanied by US ambassador Judith Garber.
A statement from the TRNC Presidency said that during the meeting, which was also attended by Mr Tatar’s Special Representative Ergün Olgun and members of his negotiating team, discussions were held on the “Cyprus issue and confidence building measures”.
Mr Tatar informed Ms Olson that the Greek Cypriot side has rejected “all equality-based plans and ideas” for a solution to the Cyprus problem because they “do not have the will or incentive to share governance and prosperity on an equal basis with the Turkish Cypriots”.
“Sustainable peace and stability is possible with a realistic settlement that is based on sovereign equality and two States that coexist side-by-side which are in a cooperative relationship,” he said.
“The Turkish Cypriot co-owners of this island have inherent
rights and are as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot people. Formal negotiations can begin once our sovereign equality has been reaffirmed.”
Mr Tatar also told Ms Olson how the Greek Cypriot side has been “struggling to achieve Enosis, the annexation of the island of Cyprus with Greece” and that the “main objective of Archbishop Makarios” in agreeing to the powersharing arrangements with the Turkish Cypriots to establish the Republic of Cyprus in 1960 “was to achieve Enosis”.
He also talked about the atrocities committed against Turkish Cypriots from 1963 to 1974, and how “Turkey brought real peace to the island after she carried out her obligation to restore peace on the island under the Treaty of Guarantee”.
Mr Tatar said the Greek Cypriot side is doing “everything in their power to enhance our isolation and to suffocate us” but that “we will continue to work for the strengthening and development of our State with the support of the Republic of Turkey”, adding that he wants “good neighbourly relations” with the South.
Mr Tatar added that a settlement would “also be beneficial for the Greek Cypriot side”, as there would be trade opportunities with Turkey “which has a population of 85 million and is located only 40 miles away from the island”.
Discussions were also held in relation to the “work of the bilateral technical committees” and work between the sides in respect of “cultural heritage, health, environmental, communication and gender equality and the participation of women in the settlement process”.
Ms Garber, sharing a photo of herself, Ms Olson and Mr Tatar on Twitter, said she was “pleased” that Ms Olson had met with “Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar”, adding that there had been a “good discussion and an important and positive exchange of views”.
The US embassy in South Nicosia tweeted that Ms Olson met separately with Turkish Cypriot human rights activists to “discuss the struggles and achievements of these inspiring community leaders”, adding that the US “remains committed to defending and supporting all who work to advance human rights in Cyprus and around the world”.
The embassy also tweeted that Ms Olson met with the island’s top UN official Colin Stewart and visited the labs of the Committee on Missing Persons.
Meanwhile, Ms Olson reportedly told the South’s Cyprus News Agency on Tuesday that there was “no political aspect” to the US government’s decision last month to drop its support for a proposed “EastMed” gas pipeline linking Israel, South Cyprus and Greece.
“It is really based on the Biden administration’s dedication to moving towards clean energy, combating climate change, and the economic realities of what an energy market might look like 20 or 30 years from now, which is one that we all hope is much more focused on clean energy and renewables,” she was quoted as saying.
Her main reason to visit Cyprus, she said, had been to witness the signing of a science and technology cooperation agreement between the US and South Cyprus last Friday.