President Erhürman: My aim is to make progress; with seven points already on the table for advancing the process, introducing 19 new points at this stage would amount to brushing aside what is already on the table.

“We will continue our efforts with determination, explaining everything to all parties and keeping these issues on the agenda”

“I want meetings that will take us to a solution and deliver a successful outcome”
 
“Confidence-eroding actions continue even as we discuss confidence-building measures.”
 
“What I have said about a rotating presidency is within the context of political equality, which is the first point in the methodology. I will not allow the impression to be created that we are moving on to issues of substance.”
 
President Tufan Erhürman held a press conference at the Presidency on Monday where he briefed the press and answered questions from the journalists whilst assessing his meeting in New York where he travelled for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. 

Stating that he was always ready to hold result-oriented meetings with all parties and with determination to achieve a settlement to the Cyprus problem, President Erhürman said:  “We want a trilateral meeting or a 5+1 meeting that will take us towards a solution and deliver a successful outcome, not one held merely for the sake of holding a meeting or for taking a photograph.”

Stressing that he would continue to make every effort in good faith towards a solution and emphasising that he had not rejected a trilateral meeting in New York, President Erhürman said: “My aim is to make progress. Do we want a solution, or do we merely want negotiations?  There are existing seven-points on the table. My aim is to make progress.  Introducing 19 new points at this stage would amount to brushing aside what is already on the table.

President Erhürman stressed that the sides could meet day and night in Nicosia if desired, but that the meetings had to be productive, adding that he wanted the meetings to be results-oriented.

Stating that he would not negotiate merely for the sake of negotiating, hold talks simply for the sake of holding talks, or meet simply for the sake of meeting, President Erhürman said he wanted a solution and results-oriented 5+1 or other meetings.
“Let us hold marathon talks in Nicosia and achieve results,” President Erhürman said. “We will continue this effort with determination, explaining everything to all parties and keeping these issues on the agenda.”

President Erhürman recalled that, at the end of his visit to the island, UN Secretary-General António Guterres had said that he wanted to convene a 5+1 meeting following adequate preparation on confidence-building, methodology and substance. The President stated that seven confidence-building measures were already on the table — new crossing points, demining, joint mechanisms for disaster response and irregular migration, sports, EU citizenship for children of mixed marriages, and the establishment of a consultative body on civil society. 

Stressing that “these issues were already on the table,” the President said that the “introduction of 19 new proposals by the Greek Cypriot leader at the most recent meeting amounts to brushing aside the existing seven issues on the table”. 

President Erhürman stated that much work remained to be done, that he was determined to move the process forward and that he was ready to hold meetings once the conditions were in place for a successful outcome. He stressed that the focus should remain on the seven points and that efforts in this direction were important. 

“I stated that I would participate in a meeting if there was a possibility of reaching agreement on even a few of the confidence-building measures,” President Erhürman said. “Mr Christodoulides however put forward 19 new proposals as though the seven confidence-building measures put forward by Mr Guterres did not exist.”

President Erhürman rejected claims that he had refused to participate in a trilateral meeting in New York, saying that he had made clear he would participate if there was a possibility of reaching agreement on even a few of the confidence-building measures at the table, but that he had received no response.
Recalling that UN Secretary-General visited the island at the end of July and left after announcing that he would convene another 5+1 meeting following adequate preparations on confidence-building, methodology and substance, President Erhürman said that his first meeting with Greek Cypriot Leader Nikos Christodoulides thereafter took place a month later, despite their agreement to meet once a week. He explained that, at that meeting, they discussed the seven confidence-building measures put forward by Mr Guterres, concerning “crossing points, demining, the establishment of a joint disaster response mechanism, the establishment of a joint mechanism to address irregular migration, the establishment of a consultative body for civil society, sports, and the citizenship rights of children born of mixed marriages”.

President Erhürman stated that discussions at their second meeting had focused on “confidence-eroding measures”, whilst at their final meeting before New York, the Greek Cypriot leader put forward 19 new proposals as though the seven confidence-building measures put forward by the Secretary-General did not exist. President Erhürman described this as an approach of “holding talks merely for the sake of holding talks, without allowing them to lead to any outcome.”
 
“The conditions for a successful meeting were not in place”

President Erhürman remarked that Turkish Cypriot representatives travel to New York every year for the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly, but that neither a trilateral nor a 5+1 meeting had been envisaged on this occasion. He stressed that the conditions for a successful meeting were not in place, recalling that the UN Secretary-General had made this clear in response to a question from a Greek journalist on 16 September. He also noted that, on 23 September, the day he travelled to New York, the Greek Cypriot Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York had sent a letter for circulation to all Permanent Missions, requesting that appointments not be granted to Turkish Cypriot officials.

President Erhürman stated that he met with María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, on 24 September, and that the possibility of a trilateral meeting was not raised at any point during their meeting. He said that later that day, Presidential Undersecretary Mehmet Dânâ received a message from Ms. Holguín informing him that the Greek Cypriot leader had proposed a trilateral meeting. President Erhürman said he conveyed that he would participate in such a meeting if there was a possibility of reaching agreement on even a few of the seven confidence-building measures, but that he received no response.

President Erhürman noted that Rosemary A. DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, met with Mr Dânâ and Menelaos Menelau, the Greek Cypriot negotiator, and that the possibility of a trilateral meeting was not raised on that occasion either.  He also stated that he had conveyed to Ms. Holguín the request for the title of Mehmet Harmancı to be changed for his participation in the Cyprus Forum. 

“Whilst our meetings in New York were ongoing, Ms. Holguín called and asked to meet, and we subsequently held a meeting,” President Erhürman said, adding: “Ms. Holguín informed us that there might be a possibility of reaching a compromise on the rotating presidency and asked whether, in such circumstances, I would participate in a trilateral meeting.”
“From my point of view, the issue of the rotating presidency is a matter to be addressed in the context of methodology,” President Erhürman said. “It would not be meaningful to discuss it in the context of security and guarantees. I told Ms. Holguín that I would participate in a meeting concerning the acceptance in principle of a rotating presidency, provided that it was not paired with security and guarantees, but I received no response on this matter either.”
President Erhürman asked: “Why should we hold a meeting merely for the purpose of taking a photograph or simply for the sake of having a meeting?”

Responding to reports in the Greek Cypriot press alleging that he had “rejected” a request from the Secretary-General for a trilateral meeting, President Erhürman said: “These were not invitations from the Secretary-General.
They were requests for a meeting from Mr Christodoulides, and I did not reject them. What I said was this: if there is a possibility of reaching agreement on even two or three of the confidence-building measures before us, I will attend. But if what is being sought is to create, in the presence of the Secretary-General, an environment in which the rotating presidency is paired with security and guarantees, I will not be a part of such an environment.”

“Everyone knows that what I have said regarding a rotating presidency is in the context of political equality, and political equality is the first point of the methodology,” President Erhürman stated, adding: “I will not allow an impression to be created that we are entering into issues of substance. That is what I said.” 

President Erhürman recalled that the leaders had held numerous meetings in Nicosia to date and said that issues of substance needed to be developed and brought to maturity through these meetings.

“We have held 11 meetings. We have to prepare the ground in Nicosia. Once we reach the point where results can be achieved, we can hold a trilateral meeting. Let us talk here until we reach an agreement; when we are close to an agreement, let us hold trilateral and 5+1 meetings,” President Erhürman said, underlining that international meeting formats should be results-oriented.
 
On confidence-building measures, President Erhürman asked: “Do we genuinely want to open new crossing points, or do we want to appear as though we want to open them?” He said that their objective was to achieve concrete progress.

“Confidence-eroding actions continue whilst we discuss confidence-building measures”
President Erhürman stated that, during his meetings, they had found it necessary to introduce a new term into the discussion: “confidence-eroding actions.”

Pointing out that the purpose of confidence-building measures was to create a conducive climate that would contribute to the settlement process, President Erhürman said that the continuation of “confidence-eroding measures” was inconsistent with this objective.

President Erhürman stated that, over the past 11 months, the number of initiatives they regarded as falling within this category had reached 13.
In this context, the President drew attention to a number of measures and actions taken by the Greek Cypriot side that he described as confidence-eroding, including the property issue; the European Parliament resolution concerning missing persons; military agreements concluded with Israel; diplomatic initiatives aimed at undermining the effectiveness of the Immovable Property Commission as an effective domestic remedy; efforts to discourage foreign ambassadors from attending meetings on the Turkish Cypriot side; interventions concerning cultural and sporting activities; and initiatives concerning Turkish Cypriot universities.

President Erhürman stated that similar problems had also been encountered in implementing agreements reached within the Technical Committees, citing as examples the discussions concerning the website and CVs in relation to the Technical Committees on Youth and Culture.
President Erhürman said that sending letters to international actors and Permanent Missions urging them to refrain from establishing contact with the Turkish Cypriot side was likewise incompatible with efforts to create a conducive climate.

Recalling that Ms Holguín had responded negatively when asked by a journalist whether it was possible to create a conducive climate in an environment where attempts were being made to restrict international contacts, President Erhürman stressed that the Cyprus issue was already complex and that such initiatives made the situation even more complicated.
 
“We cannot repeat the mistakes of the past”
President Erhürman referred to the approach of  the UN Secretary-General, who stressed that “we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past,” and reiterated that all meeting formats concerning the Cyprus problem should serve the purpose of achieving results.

“We can meet in Nicosia as much as desired. But meeting formats outside Nicosia have to be productive and results-oriented. If we are not going to achieve results, there is no point in holding them; we should hold these meetings in order to achieve results. “I shall not participate in a 5+1 meeting merely for the sake of holding one, nor shall I negotiate merely for the sake of negotiating,” President Erhürman said.

President Erhürman also stated that his approach to the Cyprus problem was fully aligned with that of the UN Secretary-General in being results-oriented, stressing that the fundamental question was what concrete outcomes the meetings to be held would produce.