President Ersin Tatar has spoken to The Telegraph newspaper ahead of his meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to be held in New York on Friday (April 5)
President Ersin Tatar tells The Telegraph newspaper "a two State settlement is the way forward for the Island of Cyprus"
The article, which drew attention to President Tatar having graduated from the University of Cambridge, quoted him as saying that there is a need for a “fair and sustainable agreement".
Stating that the Greek Cypriots want to see the island united under the flag of the ‘Republic of Cyprus’, President Tatar said negotiations under the exhausted federal basis “are a waste of time," adding: “That is all past. All those opportunities have been exhausted. How can we unite an island like this after so many years? You cannot possibly unite Cyprus. You have to face the facts and accept the reality.”
President Tatar stressed that “the only option now is a two State solution in which TRNC is accepted as an independent state”.
“Since 1974, we have had two States, two regions, two sovereign powers in Cyprus living side-by-side, coexisting. The only way forward is a two State solution,” President Tatar said.
Stating that “recognition [of the TRNC] might take time but as time goes by, we consolidate more”, the President explained the reasons why the Turkish Cypriot Side arrived at the position for a settlement based on two States, adding that Türkiye will not accept a one-state solution for Cyprus, and a little flare-up could spark a conflict similar to those in Gaza and Ukraine”.
“Everybody should be calm and reasonable. The Turkish Cypriots are not alone – we have 85 million Turks behind us and they are 40 miles away,” President Tatar said.
President Tatar commented that “we do not want a clash and they [Greek Cypriots] shouldn’t want a clash. . .they have five million tourists visiting them each year, especially from the UK.” The President explained that any conflict would not benefit either side and that “no tourist would come. . .they would go bankrupt”.
The article states that the Cyprus issue has become one of the world’s most intractable diplomatic problems, and referred to the disagreements between the two Sides over the exploration and exploitation of natural gas reserves around the Island and the issue of Maraş.
The article also referred to the isolation facing Turkish Cypriots that prevents them from direct trade and direct travel to the ports of the TRNC.