Christodoulides accuses Erhurman of setting conditions for Cyprus talks

Nicosia, Cyprus. President Nikos Christodoulides accused Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Sunday of imposing conditions before negotiations on a Cyprus settlement could restart. His criticism followed the Turkish Cypriot side’s insistence that a settlement provide for the presidency to rotate between the two communities.

Dispute over conditions for negotiations

Christodoulides said the Turkish side wanted advance acceptance of particular positions important to Turkish Cypriots, without demonstrating any readiness to consider or accept his side’s positions on other substantial elements of the Cyprus problem.

Related: UN envoy Holguin holds short talks with Christodoulides ahead of meeting with Erhurman

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He reiterated that these questions belonged at the negotiating table, arguing that conditions imposed before discussions resumed hindered progress. He said the Turkish Cypriot position helped explain why negotiations remained stalled and exposed a principal cause of the continuing delay.

President says 19 proposals were conveyed orally

Responding to Erhurman’s statement that he had received no formal proposal containing Christodoulides’ 19 new discussion points, the president said he had never maintained that they were delivered as a written document.

Christodoulides said he had presented the proposals orally and that Erhurman knew all 19 specific points. According to the president, Erhurman had responded to some, while the remainder still required a response. He added that the National Council had been thoroughly briefed.

The president also referred to a National Council member’s remarks at a bicommunal festival held in Pyla on Saturday night. He said the member had confirmed that the points were communicated verbally rather than in writing. The proposals’ contents remain undisclosed to the public.

Varosha raised with UN secretary-general

Asked about reports that a proposal concerning the future of Varosha’s fenced-off section was among the 19 points, Christodoulides confirmed that the area was one of the specific issues his side had raised.

He said the subject had been discussed in detail during his recent meeting with the UN secretary-general in New York and also featured in a letter he had sent to the secretary-general. He declined to elaborate, saying the matter would be addressed as developments emerged.

Christodoulides said he firmly believed that restarting negotiations was the only practical way to establish which parties genuinely wanted a Cyprus settlement. He stressed that this applied beyond the two communities to the guarantor powers as well, with particular reference to Turkey’s role.