Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said on Thursday there is no lack of understanding between himself and Turkey as efforts continue to resume negotiations on the Cyprus problem. He said his actions on the issue are carried out in coordination and consultation with Turkey.
Erhurman comments on relations with Turkey
Speaking to television channel Kanal Sim, Erhurman said he meets the president, the foreign minister, and visiting ministers, and does not feel any unhappiness, unease, or lack of understanding. He added that the question of who is happy and who is unhappy is a very subjective matter.
Reports on Fidan meeting
Erhurman’s remarks followed unsubstantiated reports that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had advocated a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem during his most recent meeting with United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin on Monday.
UN and Turkey contacts
Following that meeting, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a telephone call in which they discussed the latest developments on the island of Cyprus.
High-level sources informed the Cyprus Mail last week that Erdogan has green-lit the UN’s new initiative aimed at bringing about a resumption of negotiations in earnest to solve the Cyprus problem.
According to the sources, Erdogan believes the lack of a solution to the Cyprus problem has unduly cost Turkey through no fault of its own in recent decades.
They said Turkey’s support for both the 2004 referendum and the 2017 negotiations, both of which were rejected by the Greek Cypriot side, shows Erdogan’s pragmatic and constructive stance and willingness to engage in the hope of securing a solution to the Cyprus problem.
Call for results at next enlarged meeting
On Tuesday, Erhurman convened a meeting of Turkish Cypriot political party leaders, after which he said the next enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem must not pass without a tangible result.
He said the meeting, involving the island’s two sides, the three guarantor powers Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN, should not take place merely for its own sake, but to achieve results.