President Ersin Tatar and his delegation returns to the TRNC following intensive contacts in New York
"The call by Republic of Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the formal recognition of the TRNC has made its mark at the UNGA”
President Ersin Tatar and his delegation have returned to the TRNC following intensive meetings in New York on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Holding a press conference following his arrival at Ercan Airport last night, the President expressed his gratitude to Republic of Türkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for making a historic call to the international community, when addressing the UN General Assembly, to formally recognise the TRNC.
Stating that aside from meeting with President Erdoğan and UN Secretary-General António Guterres, he also held meetings with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and other officials. President Tatar said that his delegation also met with representatives of other countries including the United States of America, United Kingdom and France, and added that contacts were also held with officials of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
The President stated that numerous meetings were held at the TRNC Representative Office that was inaugurated last year at the Türkevi (Turkish House), that is located almost adjacent to the UN Headquarters in New York.
“Utilising every opportunity in New York in an intensive and proactive manner to put forward the views and new policy of the Turkish Cypriot People in all of our meetings, we explained to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and representatives of many countries, the need to reaffirm the inherent sovereign equality and equal international status rights of the Turkish Cypriot People in order to start anew formal negotiations,” the President said. He added that negotiations on the basis of a federation has been exhausted and is no longer possible due to the rejections of the Greek Cypriot Side over the past half-a-century.
The President added that the Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu and his delegation also held a series of contacts in New York within the scope of the UN General Assembly.
Stating that no common ground exists between the Sides, the President pointed out that United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo will be staging a visit to the island of Cyprus in due course in order to explore whether common ground exists or not between the Sides.
The President emphasised that there will be elections for a new Greek Cypriot leader in South Cyprus in 2023 and said he advised the UN Secretary-General that he condemned the hostile and unrealistic rhetoric displayed by the Greek Cypriot leader when addressing the UN General Assembly.
Expressing his gratitude to President Erdoğan for his historic address at the UN General Assembly where he called for the end of the persecution of the Turkish Cypriots and formal recognition of the TRNC by the international community, President Tatar added: “The call for the recognition of the TRNC has made its mark in history and is a turning point in the Cyprus issue, a milestone moment. The words by President Erdoğan is the voice and interpretation of the expectations of the Turkish Cypriot People. . . [President Erdoğan] conveyed both the new policy for a settlement to be based on the inherent sovereign equality and equal international status rights of the Turkish Cypriot People, and also pointed to the gross injustices, persecution and isolation imposed on our People.”
Pointing out the fact that in 1963 the Greek Cypriot Side had ejected the Turkish Cypriot People with force of arms from the state apparatus of the partnership ‘Republic of Cyprus’, the President added that the “call for the recognition of the TRNC by Motherland Türkiye in the changing conjuncture is the right of the Turkish Cypriot people". Expressing that the existence of the TRNC has been brought to the forefront with this call, President Tatar stated that sovereign equality and equal international status are important for the Turkish Cypriot People since the usurped ‘Republic of Cyprus’ is now a Greek Cypriot run entity.
Expressing that the strengthening of the TRNC has always been and will continue to be his priority for the consolidation of rights, law and sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot People in Cyprus, the President said that they also explained in their meetings in New York that the US lifting the 45-year old arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot Side will only serve to escalate tensions and instability on the island and region.
Stating that he asked the Secretary-General to encourage the Greek Cypriot Side to implement the six cooperation proposals that was conveyed by the Turkish Cypriot Side, the President said the Secretary-General had shown an impartial and open-minded attitude with regards to the cooperation proposals.
With regards to the operations of the UN Peacekeeping forces in Cyprus (UNFICYP), President Tatar said that the absence of any contacts with TRNC authorities is a source of discontentment. He said he has conveyed this situation to the Secretary-General and has emphasised the need to make a formal agreement with the TRNC with regards to the status of forces, citing the recent incident at a beach in Gazimağusa involving UNFICYP personnel.
The President also stated that he has held contacts with the press and civil organisations and participated in events organised by the Turkish American Steering Committee (TASC) and the Turkish Cypriot Aid Society.
At the press conference, the President was flanked by the Parliamentary Speaker Zorlu Töre, Minister of Labour and Social Security Hasan Taçoy, Special Representative of the President M. Ergün Olgun and Special Advisor Osman Ertuğ.