Ertuğruloğlu: No Progress Can Be Made on Cyprus Issue Without Changes to UN Resolutions

Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu argued that negotiations on the Cyprus issue could not produce results unless the existing UN parameters and Security Council resolutions were changed, saying that a solution required recognition of the sovereign equality of the two states.

Ertuğruloğlu said talks conducted without the Turkish Cypriot side having equal status with the Greek Cypriot side would not benefit the Turkish Cypriot people or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

Speaking on a programme on BRT, Ertuğruloğlu commented on the Cyprus issue and argued that contacts conducted under confidence-building measures were also reinforcing the status quo. He said it should be explained how these talks contributed to the political status of the Turkish Cypriot people. Ertuğruloğlu claimed that processes pursued without recognition of the Turkish Cypriot side’s equal status strengthened the Greek Cypriot side’s position in representing itself internationally as the Republic of Cyprus.

“NO RESULTS CAN BE ACHIEVED WITHOUT CHANGES TO UN RESOLUTIONS”

Criticising United Nations Security Council Resolution 186 and subsequent resolutions, Ertuğruloğlu argued that the fundamental mistake underlying the Cyprus issue was the international community’s recognition of the Greek Cypriot administration as the Republic of Cyprus and the placement of the Turkish Cypriot side in an inferior position.

He said it would be a serious mistake to expect results from UN processes unless this situation changed, adding that a new Security Council resolution should establish equal status for both sides.

Ertuğruloğlu criticised efforts to steer the Turkish Cypriot people towards processes that he believed would not produce results, despite statements about their commitment to a solution and diplomacy. He said presenting such efforts as diplomatic success was unfair to the public.

Stating that decades of negotiations had failed to produce tangible results, Ertuğruloğlu claimed that the Greek Cypriot side had no need to establish a relationship based on equality, arguing that this was due to the international community’s current approach.

Ertuğruloğlu said he did not doubt President Tufan Erhürman’s goodwill but criticised the method being pursued. He said he did not consider it appropriate to try to prove once again that the Greek Cypriot side was unwilling to reach an agreement, arguing that the existing international system enabled this attitude to continue.

“TURKEY IS OUR ONLY GUARANTOR”

Commenting on security and guarantees, Ertuğruloğlu said he regarded Turkey as the Turkish Cypriot side’s sole guarantor.

Claiming that Britain and Greece had failed to fulfil their responsibilities as guarantor powers, Ertuğruloğlu said Turkey’s guarantee remained important to the Turkish Cypriot people.

Ertuğruloğlu said the Greek Cypriot side advocated a unitary state model, adding that the Turkish Cypriot people would not accept minority status or a political position determined by the Greek Cypriot side.

Emphasising that the Cyprus issue was not merely a matter of individual rights but a national issue concerning the political status of the Turkish Cypriot people as a whole, Ertuğruloğlu said political equality should be addressed on the basis of sovereign equality.

“COOPERATION BETWEEN TWO STATES IS POSSIBLE”

Ertuğruloğlu argued that the recognition of the TRNC did not depend on the acceptance of other countries, stating that it had been established through the will of the Turkish Cypriot people and had its own constitution and institutions.

Saying that disregarding the TRNC amounted to disregarding the Turkish Cypriot people, Ertuğruloğlu said the reality of two states had to be recognised if a solution in Cyprus was desired.

Emphasising that a two-state approach did not mean the two sides could not talk to or cooperate with each other, Ertuğruloğlu said relations based on cooperation could be established between the two states.