Ertuğruloğlu Urges Erhürman to Reject Christodoulides’ Claim of Federal Agreement

Ertuğruloğlu also criticised Erhürman for not yet responding to Christodoulides’ remarks, saying the president should explicitly reject the claim of agreement made on his behalf and take a firm position.
Speaking to the Turkish News Agency Cyprus (TAK), Ertuğruloğlu commented on statements made by Christodoulides to the press following yesterday’s meeting between the two leaders.
Saying he expected Erhürman to issue a statement declaring, “I have no such agreement,” Ertuğruloğlu said:
“I have waited until now, but there has been no reaction from TRNC President Tufan Erhürman. I would like to think, and hope, that he has not made such a grave mistake. This is not a mistake that can be made.
“This is a statement that would eliminate the TRNC, strip you of your status as head of state and president, and reduce the Turkish Cypriot people to a community within the Greek Cypriot state called the ‘Republic of Cyprus’.
“The TRNC president must take a very firm position on this.”
‘AS FOREIGN MINISTER, I CANNOT REMAIN SILENT ON SUCH A STATEMENT’
Ertuğruloğlu said the UN Security Council’s approach to the Cyprus problem was based on an erroneous assessment dating back to Resolution 186 of 1964, followed by further resolutions that, he argued, contributed to creating the Cyprus problem.
“No UN process has ever produced an outcome that would make the Turkish Cypriot people happy,” he said.
Describing the claim of agreement as a serious matter, Ertuğruloğlu added:
“I cannot remain silent on such a statement. As the foreign minister of this country, I am doing what I have to do. I expect the same stance from the TRNC president.”
‘WE HAVE NOTHING TO DISCUSS WITH THE GREEK CYPRIOTS’
Questioning why negotiations were continuing under these circumstances, Ertuğruloğlu asked, “Why are you meeting this person? What are you discussing, and what are you going to resolve?”
He argued that the Turkish Cypriot side had nothing to discuss with the Greek Cypriot side.
Ertuğruloğlu said that even discussing confidence-building measures strengthened the Greek Cypriot side’s status as a state while positioning the Turkish Cypriot side as a community. He also criticised the president’s requests for passports from the other side on behalf of citizens in this context.
‘OUR POLICY IS TWO SOVEREIGN AND EQUAL STATES WITH EQUAL INTERNATIONAL STATUS; WE WILL NOT BACK DOWN’
“Our policy is for two sovereign and equal states. There can be no retreat from this position. This is not a policy on which we can ever make concessions,” Ertuğruloğlu said.
He argued that the existing situation itself constituted the solution and that this had already been achieved. The fact that other countries had not yet recognised the situation, he said, could not justify abandoning this policy.
Ertuğruloğlu said everyone should carefully consider that abandoning this position would mean coming under Greek Cypriot domination.
Describing as “unrealistic” the idea that Turkish Cypriots could be partners in the so-called Republic of Cyprus represented by the Greek Cypriot side, he said the Turkish Cypriot people expected a settlement to preserve the rights they currently possessed and add new ones. He argued, however, that such an outcome would not be possible through an agreement with the Greek Cypriot side.
“The future of the Turkish Cypriot people lies in the existence of their own sovereign state and their partnership with Turkey,” Ertuğruloğlu said.
‘WE SHOULD FOCUS ON MAKING THE TRNC A MORE PROSPEROUS STATE’
Ertuğruloğlu said domestic disputes over foreign policy were wearing down the Turkish Cypriot side and providing material for the other side to use. He stressed the need to recognise clearly who the other side was.
Saying he believed the priority should be strengthening the TRNC, Ertuğruloğlu added:
“We should focus on domestic policy, not foreign policy. We should focus on how to make the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus a more successful, better, more comfortable and more prosperous state.”