The Turkish Cypriot leader, Tufan Erhürman, who will have another meeting today at noon with the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, María Ángela Olguín.
Appearing yesterday as a guest on an online program on the Ozgur website, Mr. Erhurman said, “We are ready to discuss everything. For example, I said I wouldn’t discuss the ‘Red Zones.’ The reason is that there are four points on the map that came from New York; I’m not bringing anything new to the table—let’s settle those first, and then let’s discuss the rest of what we’ll bring.”
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He added that they are conducting full consultations with Ankara, there is absolutely no problem with the dialogue, and he recalled that to date, no “president” of the pseudo-state has ever conducted negotiations without consulting the Republic of Turkey. He reiterated that this time he wants “negotiations not for the sake of negotiations, but to reach a solution.” The goal, he continued, is to reach a solution, not to engage in fruitless negotiations.
Regarding the crossing points, he noted that four options based on maps from New York are on the table: Louroutzina, Pyroi, Aglantzia, and Mia Milia.
“There are two maps with blue markers and two with red ones. Athenou and Mia Milia are marked in red; the others are blue. Kokkina isn’t shown on that map. From the very first day I took office, I said this: If I were in Mr. Ersin Tatar’s position, I’m not sure if I would have chosen Mia Milia as the second crossing point for vehicles back then in New York. “Perhaps I would have chosen Kaimakli or the Famagusta Gate,” he said.
But now, he added, “my duty is not to undermine what has been agreed upon, but to negotiate it. I am not proposing a new crossing point. Let’s resolve this first, and then the more gates we can open—and the more the people can come together—the better.”
Noting that both the crossing point at Mia Milia and the one at Athienou will be used by both “peoples,” Mr. Erhurman said that “the other two will simply be crossing points that will make it easier for Greek Cypriots coming from Larnaca to reach Nicosia. They are not of great importance to Turkish Cypriots. Why should I oppose them just because they’ll make life easier for Greek Cypriots? Mia Milia and Athienou are two checkpoints that will serve both communities.”
He described the stance of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, María Ángela Olguín, as a factor facilitating the talks with President Nicos Christodoulides and said it is important that she remains optimistic.
For the Turkish Cypriot leader, who again referred to the UN Secretary-General’s seven-point plan, it is significant that, for the first time, the points include granting EU citizenship to children of mixed marriages and the organization of sporting activities, such as soccer matches between children under the age of 15. He argued that the issue of citizenship is a human rights issue, has been included in relevant UN and EU reports, and is not subject to negotiation or exchange.
Regarding the 19 proposals that President Christodoulides presented orally to him and to the Secretary-General in New York, Mr. Erhurman said that these included visits to technical committees and to Pyla, which have already taken place. He added that his own proposal for meetings between the two leaders on a social level prior to the start of formal negotiations was not accepted by the Greek Cypriot side, which cited previous examples.
He noted that the 19 points were presented orally within a few months before the end of the UN Secretary-General’s term, and while 7 points remain pending—and among these 19 —which he himself does not count as 19—include issues such as Varosha and the port of Famagusta, which have not been resolved over the past 25 years.
Regarding the port of Famagusta, he argued that its legal status allows ships from other countries to dock there and that the main issue concerns the implementation of the Direct Trade Regulation. He referred to statements made in 2005 by former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat to the Finnish Presidency of the European Union, rejecting the position that the transfer of port management to the European Union is a prerequisite for trade.
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Source: CNA
