Tatar: Cyprus talks meaningless without sovereign equality

By Busra Nur Cakmak and Dilara Hamit

ANKARA (AA) - Official negotiations on the future of Cyprus are meaningless without the recognition of sovereign equality of both sides, Turkish Cypriot president said on Thursday after the conclusion of informal talks in Geneva.

During the talks that started on Tuesday, Greek Cypriot administration insisted on a federation model on the island and suggested constitutional changes "unacceptable" for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Ersin Tatar said in a press conference.

Alongside Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Tatar underlined that Turkish Cypriots have their own state and will not accept minority status in a Greek Cypriot ruled federation. He said before starting formal negotiations on a settlement, equal international status and sovereign equality of the two sides must be recognized.

Tatar sharply criticized Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades' proposal to open the Ercan International Airport near the TRNC's capital Lefkosa and the Gazimagusa seaport to international traffic under UN supervision and only after his authorization.

"This is an insult to Turkish Cypriots," Tatar said, underlining the TRNC's sovereign rights.

On Tuesday, President Tatar presented a six-point proposal to the UN and proposed the establishment of a cooperative relationship between the two sides on the island, with both enjoying equal international status.

For his part, Cavusoglu said the Greek Cypriot leader was not able to bring a new vision to the talks in Geneva but rather repeated existing rhetoric.

Cavusoglu said Turkey would continue to support the two-state solution based on sovereign equality endorsed by TRNC, stressing that they would not compromise on the independence, sovereignty and equality of Turkish Cyprus.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier on Thursday there was "no common ground yet" to resume formal negotiations on a Cyprus settlement.

"We have been able to agree that I will convene in the near future another meeting of the 5+1, again with the objective to move in the direction of reaching the common ground to allow for formal negotiations to start," noted the UN chief.

"We are determined to do everything we can to make this dialogue move on," said Guterres.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long struggle between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

The island has been divided since 1964 when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power. The TRNC was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the EU in 2004, although most Greek Cypriots rejected a UN settlement plan in a referendum that year, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.