Statement from the Presidency relating to the draft resolution published in the media regarding the EU Summit, which is due to take place on June 24-25, 2021
As it is known, the five-plus-UN informal meeting held in Geneva was organised to determine whether common ground exists between the parties. At the conclusion of this meeting, it was clearly stated by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres that the search for common ground necessary for the parties to enter into formal negotiations will continue.
Nevertheless, the EU has put forward, yet again, a biased stance by insisting on negotiations being held on the exhausted basis of a federation, which has always been used by the Greek Cypriot side as an instrument to perpetuate the status quo. Furthermore, the EU is pointing at the previous UN Security Council resolutions, despite the fact that negotiations for a federal settlement have been continuing for more than half a century and have repeatedly failed due to the Greek Cypriot side’s refusal to share power and wealth with the Turkish Cypriots on the basis of equality.
A proposed settlement in Cyprus can only be possible with the mutual consent of the two sides. The responsibility of the EU is to ensure that it takes a balanced approach towards the parties in order to help facilitate a sustainable settlement that is based on the legitimate rights of the parties, and to support possible reconciliation.
Common ground for negotiation between the parties, however, can only be on the basis of the existing realities, which is the equality of the two sides on the island in every sense, in other words, on the acceptance of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the two sides.