President Ersin Tatar has repeated that talks for a federal settlement in Cyprus have been exhausted and that any solution to be found to the Cyprus problem should be based on the equality of the two states.
The President was evaluating the speech delivered by the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodulides, who addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York
Tatar pointed out that the Greek Cypriot leader had wrongfully presented the Cyprus issue as a problem of occupation which began in 1974.
He said that Christodulides was insincere regarding a possible settlement on the island and ignored the facts.
President Ersin Tatar on Wednesday evaluated on Bayrak Radio Television the latest statements made by the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration Nikos Christodulides during his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, in which he said that “there is no other basis for the solution of the Cyprus problem outside the decisions of the United Nations Security Council, and there never will be.”
President Tatar said that Christodulides was attempting to create public opinion with his speech at the UN General Assembly.
Reacting to Christodulides’ remarks that the Cyprus issue began in 1974, Tatar said, “This does not reflect the truth; the Cyprus issue has been ongoing since 1963. He does not mention the sufferings and forced displacement of Turkish Cypriots before 1974. In this case, I question his sincerity.”
He added that what was important for the Turkish Cypriot people was to maintain their existence in Cyprus on the basis of equality.
“It is known worldwide that the negotiations for a federal settlement have been exhausted for years. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also expressed this in his historic speech at the United Nations. Christodulides is still insisting on a federal settlement, but Mr Erdoğan has responded to him; the whole world has learned that there cannot be an agreement on a federal basis,” the president said.
Tatar pointed out that the Greek Cypriot side’s intention was to remove Turkish troops from the island, scrap the system of guarantees and to create an administration dominated and controlled by Greek Cypriots.
“With the support of the motherland, in a stage-by-stage process, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has come to a point where it must be recognized by the whole world, and you must respect its independence. It is time to establish diplomatic, political, and economic relations in this country; these are historic and valuable speeches,” he added.
“Imagine a UN where our voice cannot be heard, and the Greek Cypriot leader is speaking, but I cannot speak,” the president said, stating that the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was the voice of the Turkish Cypriot people at the UN.
“Last year, at the 77th United Nations General Assembly, Erdoğan called for the recognition of the TRNC. He repeated it more strongly this year. What we call a new and national policy, that is, an agreement in Cyprus, will be based on a two-state model, and Erdoğan is once again sharing with the whole world how permanent such an agreement will be,” he said.
President Tatar described the Greek Cypriot leader’s views as a product of fantasy, incompatible with the realities on the island, and one that ignored Turkish Cypriots and their legitimate rights and interests.
Pointing out that Christodulides’ statements were a political tool that did not conform to sincerity, Tatar said, “If these relations are to be conducted within the framework of respect, it is necessary to accept the reality of the TRNC, and if there is to be a sustainable agreement in Cyprus, it will definitely be based on the cooperation of two states.”