President Ersin Tatar receives UK Parliamentarian delegation
President Ersin Tatar has met with a UK Parliamentary delegation who is paying a visit to the TRNC.
The visit to the republic has been organised by the UK-based Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus campaign whose co-chair Çetin Ramadan is accompanying the delegation consisting of Richard Bacon, Lord John Taylor, Sammy Wilson and Lord Rogan.
President Tatar, who received the parliamentarians at the Presidency on Thursday, welcomed the delegation to the TRNC, and explained the position of the TRNC with regards to the Cyprus issue.
“Our position is that a settlement on the Island of Cyprus can be found on the basis of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the two Sides in Cyprus, which is an inherent right,” President Tatar said. Explaining that “the way forward is for the co-existence of two States living side-by-side in a cooperative relationship,” President Tatar added: “Negotiations held on a federal basis have been held for more than half-a-century, which have been tried, failed and exhausted.”
President Tatar explained that the Greek Cypriot Side rejected a UN Comprehensive Settlement [Annan] Plan in the separately held simultaneous referenda in April 2004 by 76 per cent, which was accepted by the Turkish Cypriot Side by 65 per cent. He added that a new negotiations process under the federal basis collapsed in Crans-Montana in July 2017.
Explaining that he put forward the position, fully supported by Motherland Türkiye, for a settlement on the basis of the sovereign equality of the two Sides, President Tatar said: “Our position is crystal clear on the Cyprus issue. We have seen, time and again, that the Greek Cypriot Side continue to see Cyprus as a Hellenic Island, and unwilling to share power and prosperity on the basis of equality with the Turkish Cypriot Side.”
President Tatar added that he had conveyed numerous cooperation proposals across different areas to the Greek Cypriot leader on energy, as well as on demining the Island from land-mines and working together to curb irregular migration. “However, even though all of our proposals will be mutually beneficial to will promote trust building and interaction between the two Sides, the Greek Cypriot Side has never formally responded to our proposals,” President Tatar said.
Stating that there is a need to conduct negotiations on a new basis that will pave the way to a viable, realistic and sustainable settlement, President Tatar said: “The UK is one of the guarantor powers. The UK knows full well the historical developments on the island, however refuses to treat the Turkish Cypriot Side equally.” President Tatar stated that he expects the UK to “review” its policy with regards to the Island of Cyprus and the injustices faced by the Turkish Cypriot People, and their continuing isolation.
President Tatar added that the former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who was serving in office when the Annan Plan was rejected by the Greek Cypriot Side in 2004, is vocal in supporting the realistic two State model as a basis for a settlement in Cyprus.
President Tatar thanked the delegation for their visit.
Also in attendance in the meeting were Special Representative Güneş Onar, Coordinator of Confidence Building Measures and Bilateral Technical Committees Seniha Birand Çınar, Presidential Advisor on Legal Affairs Sülen Karabacak, Special Advisor on International Relations & Diplomacy Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Işıksal and Foreign Press and Communications Officer Kerem Haser.
The visit to the republic has been organised by the UK-based Freedom and Fairness for Northern Cyprus campaign whose co-chair Çetin Ramadan is accompanying the delegation consisting of Richard Bacon, Lord John Taylor, Sammy Wilson and Lord Rogan.
President Tatar, who received the parliamentarians at the Presidency on Thursday, welcomed the delegation to the TRNC, and explained the position of the TRNC with regards to the Cyprus issue.
“Our position is that a settlement on the Island of Cyprus can be found on the basis of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the two Sides in Cyprus, which is an inherent right,” President Tatar said. Explaining that “the way forward is for the co-existence of two States living side-by-side in a cooperative relationship,” President Tatar added: “Negotiations held on a federal basis have been held for more than half-a-century, which have been tried, failed and exhausted.”
President Tatar explained that the Greek Cypriot Side rejected a UN Comprehensive Settlement [Annan] Plan in the separately held simultaneous referenda in April 2004 by 76 per cent, which was accepted by the Turkish Cypriot Side by 65 per cent. He added that a new negotiations process under the federal basis collapsed in Crans-Montana in July 2017.
Explaining that he put forward the position, fully supported by Motherland Türkiye, for a settlement on the basis of the sovereign equality of the two Sides, President Tatar said: “Our position is crystal clear on the Cyprus issue. We have seen, time and again, that the Greek Cypriot Side continue to see Cyprus as a Hellenic Island, and unwilling to share power and prosperity on the basis of equality with the Turkish Cypriot Side.”
President Tatar added that he had conveyed numerous cooperation proposals across different areas to the Greek Cypriot leader on energy, as well as on demining the Island from land-mines and working together to curb irregular migration. “However, even though all of our proposals will be mutually beneficial to will promote trust building and interaction between the two Sides, the Greek Cypriot Side has never formally responded to our proposals,” President Tatar said.
Stating that there is a need to conduct negotiations on a new basis that will pave the way to a viable, realistic and sustainable settlement, President Tatar said: “The UK is one of the guarantor powers. The UK knows full well the historical developments on the island, however refuses to treat the Turkish Cypriot Side equally.” President Tatar stated that he expects the UK to “review” its policy with regards to the Island of Cyprus and the injustices faced by the Turkish Cypriot People, and their continuing isolation.
President Tatar added that the former Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, who was serving in office when the Annan Plan was rejected by the Greek Cypriot Side in 2004, is vocal in supporting the realistic two State model as a basis for a settlement in Cyprus.
President Tatar thanked the delegation for their visit.
Also in attendance in the meeting were Special Representative Güneş Onar, Coordinator of Confidence Building Measures and Bilateral Technical Committees Seniha Birand Çınar, Presidential Advisor on Legal Affairs Sülen Karabacak, Special Advisor on International Relations & Diplomacy Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Işıksal and Foreign Press and Communications Officer Kerem Haser.