President Erhürman holds press conference following the leaders’ meeting
“We will not shy away from diplomacy and dialogue"
“I represent the will of the Turkish Cypriot people for a settlement”
President Tufan Erhürman held a press conference at the Presidency on Thursday following his tête-à-tête meeting with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides in the UN Protected Area, stating that the necessary conditions for convening a 5+1 meeting had not yet been established.
President Erhürman stated that two important points stood out in the remarks made yesterday by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, the first being his emphasis that “there is still much work to be done”.
Stressing that they had wanted a 5+1 meeting to take place from the outset, President Erhürman said that “for such a meeting to be results-oriented and productive, the necessary preparations and progress must first be achieved in Nicosia”.
President Erhürman stated that the second important emphasis in the statement of Mr. Guterres was that “we cannot repeat the same mistakes of the past”.
“There have been various processes that have ended inconclusively, from the Comprehensive UN Settlement Plan [Annan Plan] in 2004 to Crans-Montana in 2017 and many others,” the President said, adding that “if these processes did not produce a result, then something different must be done this time”.
Noting that the UN Secretary-General had used “stronger language” in his recent statement than simply saying that “this time must be different”, President Erhürman recalled that Mr. Guterres had stated that “we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past”, adding that this was an “important indication of the approach taken by the UN Secretary-General to the process”.
*“We had a relatively better meeting today than our previous one”*
President Erhürman stated that the meeting held today was relatively better than the previous one and that, as stated in the statement issued following the meeting, confidence-building measures, methodology and substantive issues have been discussed.
“The Greek Cypriot leader, Mr. Christodoulides, put forward certain ideas, whilst I conveyed our views and proposals. However, no agreement has been reached under the stated headings of discussion,” the President said, adding: “Mr. Guterres has, for some time, placed primary emphasis on confidence-building measures, and the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, Ms. María Ángela Holguín, has also described confidence-building measures as a sine qua non for a 5+1 meeting to take place.”
President Erhürman stated that confidence-building measures do not merely involve taking new actions to build trust, but also require avoiding actions that erode the existing level of trust, adding: “In this context, actions have been taken that resulted in the cancellation of two festivals that were due to be held, as well as the cancellation of the Barcelona youth camp. There have also been negative initiatives concerning a meeting held by Presidential Special Representative Mehmet Dânâ with ambassadors in the UN Buffer Zone, as well as European Parliament resolutions regarded by the Turkish Cypriot side as unilateral and biased.”
“We are continuing to raise these matters of deep concern with the UN and the EU,” President Erhürman said.
*“The conditions for convening a 5+1 meeting have not yet been established”*
President Erhürman continued: “To speak openly and with sincerity, the Secretary-General remarked in his statement yesterday that we were continuing our efforts without any let-up. However, as things stand, the conditions for convening a new 5+1 meeting have not yet been established. I wish to reiterate that we want a 5+1 meeting to be held. However, this should take place after the necessary preparations have been made in Nicosia in order to ensure that the meeting is meaningful and results-oriented.”
Stating that “no agreement has yet been reached on any issue concerning confidence-building measures”, President Erhürman said: “We are continuing to make representations to the international community regarding actions that are undermining trust.”
*“Methodology has also taken its place in the statements of the Secretary-General, no agreement has yet been reached”*
Referring to his four-point methodology proposal, President Erhürman stated: “As is well known, we put forward a four-point methodology proposal from the first instance. Methodology has also taken its place in the statements of the Secretary-General. However, no agreement has yet been reached between the sides even on the first point.”
Regarding substantive issues, President Erhürman said that the sides were currently at the stage of listening to the ideas and views of each side, adding that this was the current state of affairs.
“We have never adopted an approach of seeking a settlement at any cost,” President Erhürman stressed. “However, we will continue to pursue a settlement to this issue. Our approach is not one that regards the absence of a settlement as the solution. I represent the will of the Turkish Cypriot people for a solution. I am also mindful of the will of those who had not voted for me.
*“Closer relations with Israel are also eroding trust”*
President Erhürman said that, during the period since the previous meeting, they had raised not only issues concerning the festivals, the European Parliament resolutions and the Barcelona football camp, but also the issue of closer relations and unilateral agreements with parties that disregarded the Turkish Cypriot people. The President said he had clearly conveyed to his counterpart that closer relations and agreements with Israel did not contribute to the process and, on the contrary, were developments that undermined trust.
*“The New York meetings will be important in terms of the roadmap for the process ahead”*
President Erhürman said that they would leave the island for New York on 23 September, where scheduled meetings would be held with the UN Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy on Cyprus, Ms. Holguín.
“Following the meeting with Mr. Guterres, there will be greater clarity on how the process can move forward,” the President said, adding that the meetings in New York “will be important in terms of the roadmap for the process ahead”.
Recalling that the UN Secretary-General had reiterated in his latest remarks the commitment of the UN to making progress and that efforts would continue to move the process forward, President Erhürman said that a facilitating role by Mr. Guterres and Ms. Holguín on issues where progress had yet to be achieved could have a positive impact on the process.
*“We will not shy away from diplomacy and dialogue”*
Asked why the meetings were continuing despite failing to produce results, President Erhürman said: “We are meeting precisely in order to produce something.”
Stating that the 5+1 meetings were intended to produce tangible results, whilst describing the current talks as being not at a “negotiating table” but at a “table for dialogue”, President Erhürman stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side would never shy away from diplomacy or dialogue.
“We are there to produce solutions, to produce results, and we will continue to be there,” President Erhürman said.
Referring to the seven issues raised by the UN Secretary-General within the framework of confidence-building measures, President Erhürman said these concerned crossing points, demining, the establishment of joint mechanisms on disasters and irregular migration, sports, European Union citizenship for children of mixed marriages, and the structure established for civil society.
President Erhürman said: “We already accepted six of these seven issues during our meeting with the Secretary-General. There is still no agreement on one of them, namely the new crossing points. Therefore, we are ready to consider all seven issues at a more advanced level. We have already accepted six of them.”
President Erhürman also stressed that, from their perspective, the issue of European Union citizenship for children of mixed marriages was not merely a confidence-building measure, but also a human rights issue.