President Ersin Tatar received the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, who came to the TRNC last night as part of his working visit.

After the meeting that started at 1.30pm at the Presidency, a meeting between the delegations was held at 2pm. A joint press conference was held later by President Ersin Tatar and Mr Çavuşoğlu.

 



“FORMAL NEGOTIATIONS CAN BE STARTED FOLLOWING THE ACCEPTANCE OF OUR SOVEREIGN EQUALITY AND EQUAL INTERNATIONAL STATUS”

In his speech at the press conference, President Ersin Tatar recalled that since being elected as the  President, he has been saying  that federation based negotiations has  been exhausted and would not be successful due to the Greek Cypriot hegemonic aspiration and refusal to see the Turkish Cypriot side as its equal.    The President said that he had also explained the Turkish Cypriot position, which is fully supported by Turkey, that formal negotiations could be started with the acceptance of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots. 

 

Reminding the outcome of the Annan Plan referendum of 2004 which was rejected by the Greek Cypriot side by 76 per cent but accepted by the Turkish Cypriot side by 64 per cent in the separately held simultaneous referenda, President Tatar said that all the mechanisms of the EU have been exploited by the Greek Cypriot side ever since becoming a member of the bloc against the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots. “There is essentially a Republic of Cyprus in Cyprus and if the Turkish Cypriots are able to make an agreement, they will be patched onto the Republic of Cyprus with a constitutional amendment. This is what they are aiming to achieve, which we cannot accept,” the President said.

President Tatar expressed that as per the support he has received from the Turkish Cypriot people after being elected last October, his policy is to have acceptance of the existing sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot people.  

“We are putting forward a struggle for the recognition of the existing sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot people in appreciation of the existence of two States on the island, which is our inherent right, in full harmony and support from the Republic of Turkey,” the President said.  

The President added that there is an international equilibrium in the Eastern Mediterranean and added that because this balance is very important, Turkish Cypriots attach great importance to Turkey's support.

 

Expressing that they will host President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as well as Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and his team in the TRNC on July 20, President Tatar said that they have started to prepare for this.

 

President Tatar stated that they will show that the Turkish Cypriot people exist on the island, that Cyprus is not the old Cyprus and the Eastern Mediterranean is not the former Eastern Mediterranean either, and that the importance of the region has increased with significance and that relations between the Republic of Turkey and the TRNC have become more important in the context of the blue homeland.

President Tatar thanked the Republic of Turkey for its support in its efforts to provide the people of the TRNC with a more welfare, prosperous life and a secure future, and said: “The important thing is to explain to the world our rightfulness, our sovereignty and how sacred and valuable our struggle is and we are doing this. . .I speak on many different platforms and explain our cause and defend our rights”.

Stating that the UK handed over sovereignty to two peoples -- the Turkish Cypriots and the Greek Cypriots --  when leaving the island, President Tatar said: “What happened that we got into this position? A number of mistakes have been made, they are imposing  inhumane obstacles and isolations on us, but I believe that the modern world will find the truth after our struggle, and they will respect our struggle for an agreement on the basis of equality in Cyprus.”

 


“WE DO NOT CONSIDER IT AS BEING APPROPIATE FOR THE UN TO APPOINT A SPECIAL ENVOY FOR CYPRUS”

President Tatar and Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu also answered questions from members of the press.

When asked how they currently view the UN Secretary-General's appointment of a Special Envoy for Cyprus, Mr Çavuşoğlu stated that, as they put forward in Geneva, they are of the opinion that appointing a Special Envoy for Cyprus before the commencement of formal negotiations will not be meaningful and also had the potential to cause difficulties.

President Tatar noted that Jane Holl Lute, the UN Secretary-General's temporary Special Adviser for Cyprus, is already working to see if there is a basis that can be found to find a common ground between the sides in order to facilitate the commencement of formal negotiations. President Tatar said that both Turkey and the TRNC maintains the consensual view that “it is therefore not appropriate to appoint a higher-ranking Special Envoy for this purpose”.

Mr Çavuşoğlu stated that he agreed with President Tatar, and that the Secretary General had made such a proposal in Geneva too when  they pointed out to him that the effort  being made is to see if there is a common ground.  Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu said that with all the efforts being made so far it had become apparent that there had been no common ground found between the sides. “Appointing a Special Envoy would be meaningful if a mutual decision was taken by the sides. . .to start a new negotiation process,” Mr Çavuşoğlu stated.


 

HYDROCARBON ISSUE AND GREEK CYPRIOT DECISION TO RESTART DRILLING IN THE REGION

Upon being asked to evaluate the statement of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus Energy Minister Natasa Pilides that they will start drilling works in the eastern Mediterranean in November-December (2021), which the official had this week stated that they have not been able to do for two years due to the pandemic, and when asked what the Turkish side's reactive steps would be, President Tatar said: "This is the essence of the Cyprus issue.   I am as much sovereign as your (Greek Cypriot) side. My State is just as legitimate as your (Greek Cypriot) state.”   Noting that the Greek Cypriot Administration still makes assessments as if they have the sole authority to make decisions on behalf of the whole of Cyprus whilst disregarding the equitable rights of the Turkish Cypriots to the island’s and the regional natural resources, President Tatar stated that the Turkish Cypriot people are also one of the co-owners of Cyprus, and added “therefore, the Greek Cypriot Administration does not have the right to carry out hydrocarbon studies on their own.”  President Tatar noted that if the Greek Cypriot side takes such a step, then “we as the Turkish Cypriot side will take counter-steps in pursuit of defending our rights, with the support of Turkey. I invite the Greek Cypriot Administration to act prudently”.


 

ÇAVUŞOĞLU: “WE WILL TAKE THE NECESSARY STEPS AGAINST EVERY UNILATERAL STEP WHICH IGNORES EQUITABLE SHARING WITH TURKISH CYPRIOTS”

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu also reiterated that they will protect the rights of the TRNC and Turkish Cypriot people until the end, and noted that the TRNC and the Republic of Turkey will also take the necessary steps against actions by the Greek Cypriot side which ignores the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriot people, as has been previously done in the past in a determined manner.”

Emphasising that what needs to be done on this issue is to share and manage the resources that is based on equitable sharing, Mr Çavuşoğlu said that the three proposals of the TRNC on this matter are on the table. He emphasized that the EU and the UN should take the necessary steps to facilitate this fair sharing, otherwise they (Turkey) will do it themselves.

Mr Çavuşoğlu thanked President Tatar and his team for the hospitable welcome, and reminded that the Republic of Turkey will always stand by the rights of the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriot people.