Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Friday said he would not “fall for the provocation” of recent comments by President Nikos Christodoulides and government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis regarding the Cyprus problem.
Criticism of public statements
Erhurman said statements from the Greek Cypriot leadership were continuing in various settings, including meetings of civil society organisations, opening ceremonies, responses to unrelated questions, and official remarks.
He said he had told Christodoulides that, while talks were continuing, there had been warnings against repeatedly raising the issue at meetings and ceremonies, trying to establish new positions without the counterpart present, poisoning the atmosphere, and engaging in blame games.
Turkish Cypriot approach to public messaging
Erhurman said the Turkish Cypriot side had taken care to avoid addressing the issue at opening ceremonies and meetings of civil society organisations, and that in media comments it had not presented a new position unknown to its counterpart.
He said the Turkish Cypriot side had not shared publicly what its counterpart had said unless it had already been made public, and that it had responded to only about a fifth of incoming statements or avoided responding to them.
He also said claims and positions not raised in bilateral meetings were being introduced through the media.
Position on provocation and “status at the negotiating table”
Erhurman said a provocation would only succeed if the person being provoked fell for it, adding that if this did not happen, the provocation would remain pointless.
He said his side was at the table and proceeding with patience, composure, seriousness, and determination.
He also commented on Letymbiotis’ insistence that Christodoulides sits at the negotiating table not only as the leader of the Greek Cypriot community but as the president of the Republic of Cyprus, saying there was now an issue of “status at the negotiating table”.
Erhurman said that everyone knew there were currently no negotiations and only a “discussion table”, and that regardless of the table, it was known they were and would be at the table as two “leaders”.
What do you think is the impact of public statements on the atmosphere around the Cyprus problem?