Tatar advocates dialogue with acceptance of ‘TRNC Reality’
The north is in favour of dialogue granted the “reality of the TRNC” is accepted, Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said, ahead of leaving for the UN General Assembly in New York.
Tatar added that the Greek Cypriots are “playing a game” with the 14 points proposed by President Nikos Christodoulides as unilateral confidence building measures for Turkish Cypriots, to attract Turkish Cypriots to the Republic of Cyprus.
According to reports in the north, Tatar arrived in New York via Turkey on Sunday, where he attended a dinner at Rockefeller Plaza hosted by the Turkish-American National Steering Committee.
Tatar will be sending similar messages to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who he will meet on September 23 on the sidelines of the assembly.
“We will be there to speak about the interests of our people with all,” he said.
He added that Turkey’s new policy is to continue as it has, which is to not have official negotiations on the Cyprus problem without the establishment of sovereign equality and international standing for the ‘TRNC’, with Turkey’s full support.
Tatar stated that global balances have changed, Cyprus cannot “turn back” and Turkey’s full support for the new policy is an indication that it is moving in the right direction.
Referring to the Greek Cypriot side, he claimed that “the opposite side is playing a game,” and is trying to drag the Turkish side into negotiations from where they left off in 2017 in Crans Montana.
“It is clear that they are trying to pull us into a single structure by severing our ties with motherland Turkey. We will never fall for this game. We have been walking on a path with our own state for 60 years. If we want to live freely, independently and with dignity in the future, we must pay attention to basic criteria,” he said.
Before his trip to New York, he said that he had consulted with his team on the Cyprus issue, the ‘government’, political party leaders, and Turkey.
“We will look for opportunities to explain our case, our fair fight and key parameters of our new policy in New York,” he said.
At the Turkish House in New York, where the ‘representation’ of the breakaway regime is also located, he will have a meeting with the Turkish President, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, officials of the Organisation of Turkic States and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and representatives of other countries.
The Turkish Cypriot side made some proposals through the United Nations last July on natural resources and hydrocarbons, renewable energy and solar energy, transition to an interconnected system, water sharing, irregular migration and mine clearance, Tatar said.
“These proposals will not give any advantage to one side over the other in Cyprus. This is the crucial point of the Cypriot issue, for the two sides to respect each other and for the other side to accept that we are a state, with power and responsibilities. We cannot reach an agreement on this point. The other side never accept an agreement based on equality,” he added.
Tatar said that Christodoulides sent a message to the Turkish Cypriot side on various channels.
“We know very well what those messages are. If there was a benevolent approach, the Turkish Cypriot people would not have suffered brutal isolation and embargo despite all these developments,” he said.
The Greek Cypriots, he claimed, are making various contacts so that the degrees of universities in the north are not recognised, they are trying to hinder the economic development of the Turkish Cypriots, and with a 14-point plan they are trying to attract people to the Republic of Cyprus.
“Yes, we are in favour of communication and dialogue. We are earnestly seeking a basis for consensus within the framework of the principles we have set, but TRNC must be accepted as a reality. We will explain this at different platforms in New York,” noted Tatar.