President Ersin Tatar has stated that the Greek Cypriot side has been exploiting their EU membership.

The President made the remarks during an online panel entitled ‘Five-plus-UN Geneva Meetings and the Vision of a Two-State Solution Based on Sovereign Equality’, organised by the Department of International Relations in cooperation with the International Relations Society of Izmir Ege University.

The virtual panel was moderated by Doç. Dr. Altuğ Günal and attended by Ege University Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Budak, Vice Rectors Prof. Dr. Hakan Atılgan, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ersan, Dean of EÜİİBF Prof. Dr. Asiye Özlem Önder and many academicians and students.

Addressing the meeting, President Tatar said: “I am a patriotic politician. We advocate that having a model that is based on a cooperative relationship is the only way the two separate States in Cyprus can achieve sustainable peace and stability.  There is no future in pursuing the idea of a federation and a united Cyprus.”



Recalling that the Annan Plan process took place in 2004, when the Turkish Cypriots voted in favour of the settlement plan in the separately held simultaneous referenda in good faith in order to ensure peace, prosperity and to connect with the world, the President said that the Greek Cypriot side had overwhelmingly rejected the plan.

President Tatar added: “The Greek Cypriot side was unilaterally admitted to the European Union despite the article which provides that the island of Cyprus cannot become a member of any organisation of which both Turkey and Greece are not members.


“Since then, the complex Cyprus Issue has been further complicated because the Greek Cypriots have been exploiting their EU membership,” the President said.

Mr Tatar recalled that when the former Prime Minister of Greece visited Cyprus at that time, he had made a statement that the annexation of Cyprus to Greece had been achieved through EU membership.

President Tatar stated that the objective of the Greek Cypriot side was for the withdrawal of Turkey in order to create a structure which would have extremely dangerous consequences in relation to the future of the Turkish Cypriots




"THE GREEK CYPRIOT AIM IS FOR CYPRUS TO BECOME A GREEK ISLAND"


Emphasising that they have never believed in a federal based settlement on the Cyprus issue, President Tatar said:   “The Greek Cypriots have always tried to shape the federal based solution into a format in order to achieve their aspiration which is to pave the way of turning Cyprus into a Greek island.  With constitutional amendments, the Greek Cypriots want to evolve the Republic of Cyprus that is based in the South, to making it a federal republic, in order to absorb as their province the Turkish Cypriot state in the north, which will be weakened and lead to the whole of Cyprus becoming a Greek island.”





"WE ARE IN SEARCH FOR A COMMON GROUND"


Noting that the issue of sovereignty was also on the agenda at the five-plus-UN informal meeting held in Geneva last month, President Tatar stated that there is no common ground at the moment but these meetings will be held again within two-to-three months, adding that “the search for a common ground will continue”.

 



"WE DESIRE THE COOPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP OF TWO STATES ON THE BASIS OF SOVEREIGN EQUALITY"


President Tatar continued as follows:


"We, as the people of the TRNC, demand our sovereign equality. We stated in Geneva that we are a separate people and have a separate history; we are a completely different people which enjoy strong ties and overlapping interests with motherland Turkey; the Turkish Cypriot people have the inherent right to govern themselves which they have been fulfilling for the past 60 years. We therefore have the right to sovereignty and if there will be an agreement, the approval of both sides is required.  In this struggle, I attach great importance to the support of Turkey and the Turkish nation who share this struggle with us. . .to raise awareness of what is happening in Cyprus and the plight of the Turkish Cypriots and communicate this effectively to the young generation and to maintain the national consciousness is very important for me. The support and contribution of Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, as the guarantor country at the Geneva meetings was invaluable."


Stating that our relationship with Turkey has improved with the new technology, the President added that the Turkish Cypriots, who are an inseparable part of the Turkish nation, are fully  integrated with Turkey in all communication platforms and that they feel and experience every event together.