President Ersin Tatar holds a press conference following his meeting in the UN Buffer Zone with the Greek Cypriot leader
“I have put forward the opening of a crossing point in Akıncılar as a positive and constructive proposal”
President Ersin Tatar held a press conference upon returning to the Presidency following his meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides in the UN Buffer Zone on Monday.
The meeting, which was also attended by the special representatives of the two leaders, was hosted by Colin Stewart, Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cyprus and Head of UNFICYP, at his official residence.
President Tatar commenced his address by saying that he had “learned with great sadness” the passing of Perihan Aziz, a renowned Turkish Cypriot journalist who served as a correspondent for different media groups and a former director of Türk Ajansı Kıbrıs (TAK). The President expressed his condolences and sympathies to her family and to the press community, adding: “May she rest in eternal peace.”
President Tatar stated: “I went to the meeting today with a positive agenda to put forward constructive proposals that will be of benefit to both Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People. The meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader took place with a single and important issue on the agenda. It was about exploring the possibility of opening more crossing points between the North and the South and I told Mr. Christodoulides that, as the two Leaders, our respective Peoples are awaiting good news about progress being made on this matter.”
President Tatar added: “There is a serious congestion problem at the Metehan crossing point. I have today expressed my readiness in my standing proposal – that is supported by the two Mayors of Lefkoşa and the chambers of commerce and business community from both sides, to open the first ever crossing point exclusively for commercial and economic activities in Haspolat. This will address the congestion being experienced in Metehan.”
Stating that he has also made a fresh new proposal on the opening of another crossing point, President Tatar said: “I have also put forward a new constructive proposal and proposed the opening of a crossing point in Akıncılar – Limbya – for which the residents of both villages are in favour.”
Stressing that there were eight million crossings recorded in total for 2024, the President said: “Eight million crossings is a significant number. This is a record number of crossings, with probably many people crossing on numerous occasions and sixty-five per cent of these crossings were at Metehan. As you are aware, there are many complaints from the public about the congestion issue at Metehan, with waiting times sometimes exceeding an hour. My proposals are aimed to address the traffic congestion issue, increasing people-to-people contacts, and building a culture of cooperation between the two Sides. We want to increase the volume of trade and commercial activities under the Green Line Regulation.”
Stating that the two leaders had agreed to continue exploration exercises on the possibility of opening further crossing points during the informal meeting hosted by the UN Secretary-General in New York in October, 2024, President Tatar stated: “During the end-of-year reception, I had given my approval for this meeting to take place in my talks with the Greek Cypriot leader and UN officials.”
“The Greek Cypriot Side has continued its known position of wanting a transit passage through Erenköy and Kiracıköy, which have obvious known complications. Following my consultations with different authorities, I have also put forward the opening of Akıncılar as a positive and constructive proposal," President Tatar said.
Stating that they could not accept transit passages that could cause security problems on TRNC territory, President Tatar said: “We cannot accept the proposal that do not come within the definition of a crossing point, this proposal is in fact a transit point for ‘south-to-south’ crossings.”
Emphasising: “I stated to the Greek Cypriot leader that the opening of Akıncılar could also be easily justified to the Greek Cypriot public, because it is located very near to Kiracıköy, and would also accommodate their demands,” President Tatar said: “I have asked the Greek Cypriot leader to evaluate my proposals, and we have agreed to meet again in the coming days, before the visit of Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General and head of the Department of Political Affairs, to the Island on February 10.”
Stating that the “traffic congestion will further increase” following the “opening of the new Presidential complex, Parliamentary Assembly and Republic Park”, President Tatar said: “We have in anticipation increased the number of lanes at our side of the crossing point in Metehan from one to three lanes, and increased the number of personnel there, so as to enable a much more efficient and speedier flow of crossings. Similar work needs to be carried out on the Greek Cypriot side of the Metehan crossing point, which continues to have a single lane and insufficient numbers of personnel, that is the cause of the congestion. I have pointed out these issues in the meeting with Mr. Christodoulides today, and he has assured me that they will be carrying out the necessary work.”
Touching on the issue of the “discrimination” faced by TRNC citizens from the Greek Cypriot Side, President Tatar said: “Discriminating between TRNC nationals is unacceptable in this day and age, particularly for an EU Member State. I have stated today that this is not an appropriate course of action. All TRNC citizens are equal. All should be able to use the crossing points. I have reiterated this issue in the presence of the UN and I have requested for Mr Stewart to convey this long-standing problem to the UN Secretary-General. This is a very sensitive issue for us.”
President Tatar stated that he had, during the meeting, also raised the “issues created by the Greek Cypriot Side” for tourism companies who wished to transport tourists to Northern Cyprus on day trips. “The Greek Cypriot leader has stated that there are no such problems or obstacle for tourists wanting to cross to the TRNC from the South,” he said.
In answer to a question, President Tatar stated that “the Greek Cypriot leader put forward views that fall outside the issue of crossing points, which was the sole purpose of the meeting today. . .we have taken note of these”.
The President said discussions will be continued between the special representatives of the two leaders.