Nicosia, Cyprus. House President Annita Demetriou expressed disappointment over the lack of progress at Wednesday’s tripartite meeting on the Cyprus problem, while the north’s ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu said negotiations cannot solve it.
Demetriou meets UN envoy
Demetriou met United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin on Thursday and said she was disappointed that “so far, the necessary conditions have not been met” for convening an enlarged meeting.
She expressed cautious optimism that progress could still be achieved, saying that despite difficulties, “the process is not over,” and that dialogue must continue.
Disy stance on negotiations and a solution
Demetriou said Disy is “unwaveringly committed to the goal of resolving the Cyprus problem on the basis of UN resolutions and the agreed framework,” while also acknowledging the difficulties involved.
She described liberation and reunification as a national duty and highest mission, and said Disy supports resuming substantive negotiations as soon as possible for a solution that would liberate and reunify Cyprus “without occupying troops, without anachronistic guarantees, and without interventionist rights”.
Ertugruloglu rejects negotiation approach
Speaking to Kibris Postasi TV, Ertugruloglu said “the Cyprus problem cannot be solved by negotiating with the Greek Cypriot administration”.
He said the issue lies with the Greek Cypriot side’s status as the Republic of Cyprus and called for demonstrating what he described as Greek Cypriot intransigence to the world, adding that “populist and romantic rhetoric” and slogans would not address the root of the disagreement.
Criticism of Erhurman’s federal approach
Ertugruloglu accused Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman of “wasting people’s time” by pursuing a federal solution, and said he was following the same method as former Turkish Cypriot leaders Mehmet Ali Talat and Mustafa Akinci.
How do you assess the prospects for renewed substantive negotiations on the Cyprus problem?