The meeting, held at the Presidency on Tuesday, was attended by Prime Minister and National Unity Party (UBP) leader Ünal Üstel,  Deputy Prime Minister and Democrat Party leader Fikri Ataoğlu, and main opposition Republican Turkish Party leader Tufan Erhürman.

President Tatar, who spoke to the press following the meeting, stated that he had briefed the  political parties with regards to the Cyprus issue prior to leaving for New York, and he has now provided information to political parties following his week-long visit to the US.

Explaining that he had paid the visit to New York for the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, President Tatar stated that he and the negotiating delegation met with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other international actors.

“We explained the position of the Turkish Cypriot Side, that new and formal negotiations cannot be started without the reaffirmation of our sovereign equality and equal international status”, President Tatar said, adding that the Republic of Türkiye continues to fully support the new policy of the Turkish Cypriot Side.

Stating that in New York he had met with President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye Hakan Fidan, the President said that he had also met with officials of the Organisation of Turkic States,  the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and some diplomats.

President Tatar stated: “President Erdoğan again presented the reality with regards to the existence of the TRNC and he renewed his call to the international community to recognise the TRNC and to build diplomatic, political and economic relations with our country, during his address at the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.”
“President Erdoğan voiced our policy at the highest level to the whole world and underlined the injustices imposed on the Turkish Cypriot People. The Cyprus issue has been continuing for the last 60 years, and the Turkish Cypriot People have equal inherent rights, which need to be reaffirmed and acknowledged,” President Tatar said.
“What we have stated in New York in all our meetings is that federal based negotiations held for more than half-a-century have been exhausted,”  the President said.

President Tatar stated that the Turkish President had also stated following his return from the Republic of Azerbaijan, that efforts will continue for the formal recognition of the TRNC.

Stating that he presented the demands of the Turkish Cypriot Side to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the President added: “We put forward new ideas, that we are ready to talk about cooperation between the two Sides in the fields of natural gas, interconnection via an undersea cable to Europe via the Republic of Türkiye, irregular migration and clearing the island from land mines.   We have never turned our backs to diplomatic contacts and dialogue. . . we support the work based on equality between the two Sides, of the 12 technical committees.”

Emphasising that federal based negotiations are a waste of time, President Tatar stated that “it is time to talk about a two State basis”.

Stressing that they are against the assignment of a Special Envoy who would be under an obligation to carry out UN Security Council resolutions, President Tatar said they could however consider the appointment of a Personal Envoy subject to conditions.

The President also referred to the so-called unilaterally declared 14 confidence building-measures of the Greek Cypriot leader, calling them “insincere”.

“If they want a sustainable settlement and stability on the island and the region, the TRNC has to be accepted,” he said, emphasising that “They will not achieve anything by trying to pull Turkish Cypriots into the ‘Republic of Cyprus’ that they usurped through force of arms in 1963, and through embargoes on our people”.

He said the Turkish Cypriots had voted in favour of the UN Comprehensive Settlement [Annan] Plan in 2004 in the separately held simultaneous referenda, and that the Greek Cypriots had rejected the settlement.

"However, whilst the promises to end the embargoes on Turkish Cypriots by numerous international actors have never come to fruition,  the Greek Cypriot Side has acceded to becoming an EU member state in the most unjust of ways, and they are today working hard to prevent bilateral relations from being formed between the Turkish Cypriots and the bloc,” President Tatar said.

President Tatar emphasised that: “Efforts with regards to the formal recognition of the TRNC is a significant turning point”.