Nicosia, Cyprus. Tahsin Ertugruloglu said on Tuesday that the Cyprus problem has been solved and that no renewed partnership or negotiations with Greek Cypriots are possible. He made the remarks while welcoming a delegation of academics and “opinion leaders” to his office.
Forum delegation visit
The delegation included participants from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Iran and Greece. They had visited Cyprus to attend Bahcesehir University’s Mediterranean peace and diplomacy forum, hosted at its Cyprus campus.
Ertugruloglu’s remarks
Ertugruloglu said the current situation in Cyprus is a de facto reality and that, as long as Greek Cypriots are recognised as the so-called Republic of Cyprus, no solution other than the current situation is possible.
He said that “Cyprus is the cause of the Turkish nation” and thanked Turkey, referring to it as the “motherland”. He said, “Our strength is equal to the strength of the motherland.”
He also said that “no results can be achieved through negotiations in Cyprus” and that “any partnership with the Greek Cypriots is no longer in question”.
He added that “there is no question of backtracking from the policy of a two-state solution based on sovereign equality” and said, “We will stand by our state. We will walk together with our motherland.”
Position within the Turkish Cypriot community
Ertugruloglu’s position is not the official position of the Turkish Cypriot community, whose elected leader Tufan Erhurman supports a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
Erhurman said on Monday that the Turkish Cypriots’ will for a solution to the Cyprus problem is “clear”.
