President Ersin Tatar’s statement to the press following his meeting with UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) in Cyprus, Colin Stewart:
“It is important for the two Sides in Cyprus to cooperate with regards to the issue of earthquakes”
“The main purpose of tomorrow's meeting is for us to become acquainted with one another”
“I will make a proposal at the meeting tomorrow for the two Sides in Cyprus to cooperate on earthquake matters”
President Ersin Tatar made a statement to the press today following his meeting with the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Cyprus and Head of Mission of the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP) Colin Stewart.
The President pointed out that the purpose of the informal meeting with the newly elected Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, which is for the two to become acquainted and to establish a dialogue between the two leaders.
President Tatar, emphasising the importance on the need for cooperation between the two Sides, added that the TRNC is continuing its mourning following the devastating effects of the earthquakes in the Republic of Türkiye, which has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people including 50 TRNC citizens – half of whom were schoolchildren.
President Tatar stated: “I look forward to meeting Mr Christodoulides in the informal acquaintance meeting tomorrow. I have always been in favour of dialog and I will be making a proposal tomorrow for the two Sides to cooperate in relation to an earthquake. This is a humane issue that is to the benefit of both Sides.” During the meeting, which lasted about an hour at the Presidency, President Tatar's Special Representative M. Ergün Olgun and the negotiating team, Coordinator of Confidence Building Measures and Bilateral Technical Committees Güneş Onar, Legal Affairs Advisor Sülen Karabacak, International Relations and Diplomacy Special Advisor Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Işıksal, Foreign Press Officer Kerem Haser and Political Affairs Advisor Özlem İnce were also present.
President Tatar stated that Mr Stewart, a Canadian diplomat, visited him as part of preparations for the informal meeting they will hold tomorrow with Mr Christodoulides, who was elected leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration, and reminded that Mr Stewart had also met with the Greek Cypriot leader yesterday.
President Tatar reiterated that during the meeting, he had stated to the UN official that the position of the Turkish Cypriot Side is that there is a need for the reaffirmation of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People in order to start formal negotiations.
President Tatar said: “Tomorrow's meeting will be a general introductory meeting. A meeting so that everyone can be prepared for future dialog in Cyprus through the United Nations.”
President Tatar also stated that at the meeting tomorrow, the issue of improving the daily contacts and existing cooperation currently being carried out in different technical committees could be discussed.
“Earthquake is our main agenda”
President Tatar said that the main issue for the TRNC is the earthquake and its aftermath, and how to best prepare for the eventuality of the natural disaster. “Mr Stewart conveyed his condolences and sympathies following the significant loss of life following the earthquake in Türkiye. I emphasised that the Turkish Cypriot People are currently undergoing a period of mourning and shock due to the catastrophic earthquake and the devastation it has caused. This is a great disaster. We lost our babies, our children and our loved ones in the destructive earthquake in Adıyaman, and the Turkish Cypriots have been mourning for the last two weeks. We conveyed that the country is undergoing a period of great sadness, and that efforts are being made to keep the name of our loved ones alive. I explained that many of our people lost their lives both in Adıyaman and in other earthquake regions, and that many relatives of our brothers and sisters who settled here after 1974 lost their lives. The earthquake dominates our agenda,” he said.
“Tomorrow's meeting was already agreed. We will attend the meeting”
Stating that tomorrow's informal acquaintance meeting had been decided beforehand, President Tatar said: "We will attend this meeting tomorrow. It is important to keep diyalog open because we believe in the need for the two Sides to cooperate.”
President Tatar added that in tomorrow’s meeting, he will state that formal negotiations can only be started following the reaffirmation of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People.
"Cooperation in technical committees on various issues is in the interest of both the Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People"
President Tatar reiterated the importance he attaches to the technical committees, and that, after the murder of 16-year-old Zehie Helin Reessur in Gazimağusa last month, the co-chairman of the Technical Committee on Crime and Criminal Matters, Salih Doratlı, requested the arrest and extradition of the relevant murder suspect, and that the person concerned was arrested and extradited in just two hours. President Tatar said: "Cooperation on various issues in these technical committees is in the interest of both Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People."
“It is extremely important for there to be cooperation on earthquake in this small island”
President Tatar said: “There are opinions by experts, who have analysed the fault lines and tectonic movements, that earthquakes in Türkiye have come down as far as Hatay, and that there are expectations of more earthquakes in the future. Everyone should know this, and I shared that with the UN as well.
“We have been talking about the earthquake here every day for the last two weeks. The island of Cyprus is in an earthquake zone. Maybe there will not be a severe earthquake, but in the end, we need to be prepared. Therefore, I expressed that it is extremely important to have such a cooperation on the island of Cypru.”
"Sovereign equality and equal international status"
President Tatar said: “Everybody already knows the new position of the Turkish Cypriot Side. There can only be an agreement in Cyprus with the cooperation of the two States, and that the State in the North must be sovereign. If an understanding develops and a common ground is found. . .then we can eventually move on to formal negotiations."
“I will make a proposal at the meeting tomorrow for the two Sides in Cyprus to cooperate on earthquake matters”
President Ersin Tatar made a statement to the press today following his meeting with the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Cyprus and Head of Mission of the UN Peacekeeping Force (UNFICYP) Colin Stewart.
The President pointed out that the purpose of the informal meeting with the newly elected Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, which is for the two to become acquainted and to establish a dialogue between the two leaders.
President Tatar, emphasising the importance on the need for cooperation between the two Sides, added that the TRNC is continuing its mourning following the devastating effects of the earthquakes in the Republic of Türkiye, which has caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people including 50 TRNC citizens – half of whom were schoolchildren.
President Tatar stated: “I look forward to meeting Mr Christodoulides in the informal acquaintance meeting tomorrow. I have always been in favour of dialog and I will be making a proposal tomorrow for the two Sides to cooperate in relation to an earthquake. This is a humane issue that is to the benefit of both Sides.” During the meeting, which lasted about an hour at the Presidency, President Tatar's Special Representative M. Ergün Olgun and the negotiating team, Coordinator of Confidence Building Measures and Bilateral Technical Committees Güneş Onar, Legal Affairs Advisor Sülen Karabacak, International Relations and Diplomacy Special Advisor Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Işıksal, Foreign Press Officer Kerem Haser and Political Affairs Advisor Özlem İnce were also present.
President Tatar stated that Mr Stewart, a Canadian diplomat, visited him as part of preparations for the informal meeting they will hold tomorrow with Mr Christodoulides, who was elected leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration, and reminded that Mr Stewart had also met with the Greek Cypriot leader yesterday.
President Tatar reiterated that during the meeting, he had stated to the UN official that the position of the Turkish Cypriot Side is that there is a need for the reaffirmation of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People in order to start formal negotiations.
President Tatar said: “Tomorrow's meeting will be a general introductory meeting. A meeting so that everyone can be prepared for future dialog in Cyprus through the United Nations.”
President Tatar also stated that at the meeting tomorrow, the issue of improving the daily contacts and existing cooperation currently being carried out in different technical committees could be discussed.
“Earthquake is our main agenda”
President Tatar said that the main issue for the TRNC is the earthquake and its aftermath, and how to best prepare for the eventuality of the natural disaster. “Mr Stewart conveyed his condolences and sympathies following the significant loss of life following the earthquake in Türkiye. I emphasised that the Turkish Cypriot People are currently undergoing a period of mourning and shock due to the catastrophic earthquake and the devastation it has caused. This is a great disaster. We lost our babies, our children and our loved ones in the destructive earthquake in Adıyaman, and the Turkish Cypriots have been mourning for the last two weeks. We conveyed that the country is undergoing a period of great sadness, and that efforts are being made to keep the name of our loved ones alive. I explained that many of our people lost their lives both in Adıyaman and in other earthquake regions, and that many relatives of our brothers and sisters who settled here after 1974 lost their lives. The earthquake dominates our agenda,” he said.
“Tomorrow's meeting was already agreed. We will attend the meeting”
Stating that tomorrow's informal acquaintance meeting had been decided beforehand, President Tatar said: "We will attend this meeting tomorrow. It is important to keep diyalog open because we believe in the need for the two Sides to cooperate.”
President Tatar added that in tomorrow’s meeting, he will state that formal negotiations can only be started following the reaffirmation of the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot People.
"Cooperation in technical committees on various issues is in the interest of both the Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People"
President Tatar reiterated the importance he attaches to the technical committees, and that, after the murder of 16-year-old Zehie Helin Reessur in Gazimağusa last month, the co-chairman of the Technical Committee on Crime and Criminal Matters, Salih Doratlı, requested the arrest and extradition of the relevant murder suspect, and that the person concerned was arrested and extradited in just two hours. President Tatar said: "Cooperation on various issues in these technical committees is in the interest of both Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People."
“It is extremely important for there to be cooperation on earthquake in this small island”
President Tatar said: “There are opinions by experts, who have analysed the fault lines and tectonic movements, that earthquakes in Türkiye have come down as far as Hatay, and that there are expectations of more earthquakes in the future. Everyone should know this, and I shared that with the UN as well.
“We have been talking about the earthquake here every day for the last two weeks. The island of Cyprus is in an earthquake zone. Maybe there will not be a severe earthquake, but in the end, we need to be prepared. Therefore, I expressed that it is extremely important to have such a cooperation on the island of Cypru.”
"Sovereign equality and equal international status"
President Tatar said: “Everybody already knows the new position of the Turkish Cypriot Side. There can only be an agreement in Cyprus with the cooperation of the two States, and that the State in the North must be sovereign. If an understanding develops and a common ground is found. . .then we can eventually move on to formal negotiations."