President Ersin Tatar receives Sweden’s Ambassador Anders Hagelberg
President Ersin Tatar has called upon Sweden to take a balanced approach which takes into consideration the equality of the two sides with regards to the Cyprus issue, and underlined the continuing unjust isolation of the Turkish Cypriot people, during his meeting with the Ambassador of Sweden Anders Hagelberg.
Photos
The meeting was also attended by Special Representative M. Ergün Olgun and members of the negotiating team.
President Tatar stated that “Sweden is a special country as she had soldiers serving in Cyprus under the UN in the 1960’s and 1970’s, who witnessed the atrocities and the attacks on the Turkish Cypriot people by Greek and Greek Cypriot forces as part of their aspiration to annex the island of Cyprus with Greece".
President Tatar said that the TRNC, alongside the rest of the world, is “following the war between Russia and Ukraine with great concern and the negative impact this situation has been having on people, women and children”.
“There was a view by some people that, the days of war and conflict has become a thing of the past and buried in the pages of history, and that the world has changed," the President said. "This war has most certainly shown us that we need to be very cautious. In relation to Cyprus, it has shown us how justified the Turkish Cypriot side is in wanting the continuation of the active and effective Guarantee of Türkiye. We do not want a repetition of the recent history on the island when Turkish Cypriots were abducted, attacked and had to be saved. I hope that the Ukraine events will change the way the international community looks at the Cyprus issue, taking into consideration the facts on the ground in Cyprus. However, the Greek Cypriot side still wants Türkiye to leave Cyprus and to make us a minority under a federal structure which they see as the continuation of the usurped partnership republic that was destroyed and transformed into a Greek Cypriot run administration. I hope that the international community, in relation to the Cyprus issue, will change its position that takes into consideration the realities of the island and the equal inherent rights of the sides.”
The President remarked that “we have a strong case in wanting to introduce fresh new ideas, taking a think outside the box approach which was wanted by the UN Secretary-General. Our position is clear: The Greek Cypriot side has rejected different equality-based plans and proposals over many decades, which are all documented, including the 2004 [UN Comprehensive Settlement] Annan Plan and lastly in 2017 in Crans Montana. We are saying that equality-based partnership negotiations have been exhausted because of the prevailing Greek Cypriot mentality and their refusal to share power and prosperity with the Turkish Cypriot people.”
The President continued that “sustainable peace and security can be reached in Cyprus and the region through the reaffirmation of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot side and the cooperative relationship between the two States. . .this needs to be reaffirmed so that a sustainable settlement can be found to the Cyprus issue through negotiations”.
The President added: “Turkish Cypriot people are as sovereign as the Greek Cypriot side and that neither can rule over the other. The Cyprus issue is itself an issue relating to sovereignty. The position for a settlement put forward by the Turkish Cypriot side is realistic, just and sustainable.”