President Ersin Tatar has said that federal settlement in Cyprus was no longer attainable and that the Turkish Cypriot side remained committed to its policy in favor of a two-state solution.

Tatar’s words came during a meeting in Ankara at the Centre for Eurasian studies where he briefed members of the think-tank on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue.

Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday, President Ersin Tatar reiterated the Turkish Cypriot side’s position in favor of a two-state solution.

He pointed out that talks for a federal settlement were now a thing of the past and that attempts to reunify the island under a federation was nothing more than a waste of time.

He said that the unchanging stance of the Greek Cypriot side, its refusal to see the Turkish Cypriots as their equals was the main obstacle in the path for such a settlement.

Tatar recalled that decades of federal talks, first initiated by the late founding President Rauf Raif Denktaş had failed to achieve the desired result.

“The final attempt in Crans Montana in 2017 proved once and for all that a federation was not possible. Since I assumed office, the Turkish Cypriot side has adopted a new position in favor of a two-state solution on the island which is fully backed by Ankara,” Tatar said, adding that this position had been formally presented to the UN during the informal summit in Geneva in 2021.

The president said that they had outlined during that summit the Turkish Cypriot side’s position in favor of a two-state solution.

“We made it clear and have been telling the international community since then that there can be no resumption of talks or a settlement without the recognition of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot side,” he said.

Tatar added that this was a historic step and important turning point in the Cyprus issue.