Nicosia, Cyprus. Turkish Cypriot ‘foreign minister’ Tahsin Ertugruloglu met Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Kemal Bozay on Tuesday, as Ertugruloglu’s office maintained its opposition to a UN-backed initiative aimed at resuming Cyprus talks. The two discussed relations between their ministries and regional developments, according to Ertugruloglu’s office.
Ministry criticism
Ertugruloglu has been an outlier among Turkish Cypriot officials in declining to support, and at times openly criticising, the “new initiative” undertaken to restart negotiations on the Cyprus problem.
His office’s most notable criticism came last week following the announcement that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Cyprus next week. It highlighted comments made by UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin in July last year that no common ground for a solution existed between the island’s two sides.
Changed political context
The situation has changed since then, with pro-federal solution candidate Tufan Erhurman elected Turkish Cypriot leader in October last year.
Erhurman and President Nikos Christodoulides agreed in December last year that “the real aim is a solution … with political equality”, while Guterres has undertaken a “new initiative” in recent months to facilitate talks.
Despite those developments, the ‘ministry’ said “the TRNC entirely rejects these new developments as initiatives aimed at mortgaging the will of the Turkish Cypriot people”.
It added that “bringing back previously failed models in different forms does not contribute to the search for an agreement” and instead “only serves to perpetuate the current status quo which benefits the Greek Cypriots”.
Call for recognition
The ‘ministry’ called on the UN to “recognise the just and legitimate status of the Turkish Cypriot people, to lift the isolation of the TRNC without further delay, and to respect the existence of two sovereign, equal states and two peoples on the island of Cyprus”.
Its position contrasts with that of Ankara’s foreign ministry. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan last month signed a joint declaration supporting Guterres’ Cyprus efforts with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos and Internal Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner.
Diplomatic contacts
Guterres’ visit will be preceded by Holguin’s visits to Brussels and Ankara, where she is expected to meet Fidan on Friday. Fidan also discussed the Cyprus problem with Guterres during a telephone call last week.
With Turkey backing Guterres’ efforts, attempts have been made to bring dissenting voices in northern Cyprus onside.
