The family photo from the UN Climate Summit in Antalya reflects the current status quo, said Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman, adding that this is what they want to change.
According to reports from the occupied territories, speaking on a program on Channel T and when asked about COP31, he said that what he had expected happened there. He noted that he received an invitation from the Turkish President a month earlier, while President Christodoulides received an invitation from the event’s secretariat. “The way the invitations were sent also reflects the reception. We knew we would not be participating in the group photo. This reflects the current status quo in the photo,” he said.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
At such events, he added, the key issue is the contacts that can be made, and the ones he made, he said, were positive and exceeded his expectations.
He had not, he continued, expected a trilateral meeting to take place in Antalya between himself, President Christodoulides, and the UN Secretary-General, reiterating that the matter was discussed at last Monday’s meeting, where he told President Christodoulides that they could meet there along with the Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, María Ángela Olguín, for her part, stated that if they wished, since the Secretary-General would also be there, they could meet. “Christodoulides did not accept this. As an excuse, he stated that they did not have enough time,” she claimed.
Mr. Erhurman also noted that “if COP31 hadn’t been held in the Turkish Republic, we wouldn’t have been able to be there anyway. That’s the status quo. And this is the status quo that we say must change.”
Methodology
Referring to the four-point proposal on methodology, the Turkish Cypriot leader said that before taking office, he had mentioned having such a proposal, whose first point is political equality, with its key elements being a rotating presidency and at least one affirmative vote.
He added that he stands by this proposal, believing that it can lead to a negotiated solution. He said he is conducting the process in full consultation with the Republic of Turkey and recalled the statement issued by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs following the last trilateral meeting.
The latest proposal
Responding to a question about a “game-changing proposal,” Mr. Erhurman said that this proposal does not involve any concessions on the part of the Turkish Cypriot side.
As for why he isn’t announcing it, he argued that “even things that weren’t discussed at the negotiating table leak to the Greek Cypriot press within five minutes. The fact that this wasn’t leaked shows that they didn’t leak it. Since it wasn’t leaked—as I said at the press conference—we must give diplomacy a chance. If it does leak, the Greek Cypriot press will ask, ‘Why didn’t you accept this?’”
“For me, what matters is that work gets done. Let’s leave it at that; perhaps it will lead us to a result. There is no question of the Turkish Cypriot side losing anything from this proposal. At the trilateral meeting with Guterres, this proposal will be on the table. The UN did not view it negatively. It’s something that, in a way, is also on their own agenda,” he said.
Checkpoints
Referring to the crossing points, the Turkish Cypriot leader said that expectations regarding the outcome must be properly assessed. “If we had set aside the issues of Mia Milia, Pyroio, and Aglantzia and said that we would open only Kampos and Louroutzina, things would be different. But we said we’d leave those for the trilateral meeting,” he said.
Regarding the upcoming “elections” in the occupied territories, Tufan Erhurman said that the “presidency” will continue to remain “impartial and independent in this process as well.”
