President Ersin Tatar issues a written statement on the Cyprus issue and the European Council Summit Conclusions on Ukraine, the Middle East and Türkiye
EU surrenders to Greek Cypriot Side
President Ersin Tatar has issued a statement on the Cyprus issue and the European Council conclusions dated 17 April 2024 on Ukraine, the Middle East and Türkiye.
In his written statement, President Tatar has stated the following:
“The relevant paragraphs of the Conclusions of the European Council Summit in relation to Cyprus, on Ukraine, the Middle East and Türkiye dated 17 April 2024, has once again clearly demonstrated the reality that the EU is incapable of being impartial.
I would like initially to draw attention to the fact that the Cyprus problem, which was imported into the EU 20 years ago contrary to its own membership criteria, had started with the destruction of the partnership state from which the Turkish Cypriots were expelled by force of arms in 1963 as part of the attempts of the Greek Cypriot leadership to unite the Island with Greece.
The responsibility for the failure to reach a solution in Cyprus since the start of formal negotiations in 1968 lies squarely on the Greek Cypriot leadership which has been permitted to maintain the status it usurped in 1963 to the present day.
Attempting to impose a federal model which was finally exhausted following the last and final attempt to reach a settlement on this basis in Crans-Montana in 2017, is tantamount to brushing under the carpet and ignoring the political will of the Turkish Cypriot People, who have withdrawn their consent from this model. Furthermore, this attempt also serves to nullify all possible efforts to find a way forward.
The sole mandate of the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy, María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, who has been appointed for a period not exceeding six months as of January 5, 2024, is to explore whether common ground exists or not between the two sides to start a new and formal negotiation process. Ms. Holguín is continuing her engagements within this framework. The appointment of a Personal Envoy by the UN Secretary-General with this mandate explicitly demonstrates that a federation no longer constitutes a common ground as a basis for a negotiated settlement in Cyprus.
It should be clear that there will be no process that is based on the exhausted basis, for which the Turkish Cypriot Side have withdrawn their consent, and the Turkish Cypriot Side will not engage in an exercise which has failed time and again, for more than half-a-century.
A new and formal process can only start on the basis we put forward at the 5+UN informal meeting in Geneva in April 2021, following the reaffirmation of our sovereign equality and equal international status.
This being the case, linking Türkiye-EU relations with the Cyprus issue is nothing more than a futile rhetoric that is aimed at empowering the Greek Cypriot side in their efforts in the Council Summit Conclusion to advance their position.
The main responsibility for the failure to resolve the Cyprus issue is the maximalist mentality of the Greek Cypriot leadership and the support provided by those for the continuation of this mentality.
We invite the EU to stop being a slave to the Greek Cypriot Side and to fulfil the requirements of the EU Council decision taken 20 years ago to lift the inhumane isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot People."