Ertuğruloğlu: Erhürman Makes Proposals Without Consulting the Government

In an assessment to the Turkish Cypriot News Agency (TAK), Ertuğruloğlu said the Cyprus issue was fundamentally a matter of status and that no engagement with the Greek Cypriot side could benefit the Turkish Cypriot people unless the TRNC was recognised and the two sides' statuses were placed on an equal footing.

“No formula other than a policy based on two sovereign and equal states with equal international status is valid,” he said.

Ertuğruloğlu claimed that President Tufan Erhürman had reached agreements with the Greek Cypriot side without consulting the government, describing this as an “attack” on the government's executive powers.

Stating that the main problem regarding the Cyprus issue was the resolutions adopted by the United Nations (UN) Security Council, Ertuğruloğlu said: “The Cyprus issue has been deadlocked at the UN Security Council.”

TAHSİN ERTUĞRULOĞLU: NONE OF THESE PROPOSALS WERE MADE IN CONSULTATION WITH THE GOVERNMENT

Foreign Minister Ertuğruloğlu spoke to the Turkish Cypriot News Agency (TAK) about yesterday's trilateral meeting in the buffer zone and President Tufan Erhürman's statements.

Criticising Erhürman's remarks about reaching an agreement with the Greek Cypriot leadership without consulting the government, Ertuğruloğlu said: “None of these proposals were made in consultation with the government.”

“There is no presidential system here. We have a parliamentary system. The Presidency has no executive powers. Executive authority rests with the government. If a crossing point is to be opened, that is the government's responsibility. You do not consult the government at all, yet you go ahead and make proposals to the other side in this way,” he said, describing this as unacceptable.

Referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks that models repeatedly tried on the island and thwarted each time through various manoeuvres amounted to a waste of time, and that the reality of two separate states should now be recognised by the entire world, Ertuğruloğlu said:

“Who can claim that President Erhürman has a vision that includes the recognition of the TRNC? I maintain that President Erhürman has no vision of securing the recognition of the TRNC.”

“THE FOREIGN MINISTRY'S DUTY IS TO REPRESENT THE STATE”

Stating that recognition was the primary objective in representing the state internationally, Ertuğruloğlu said President Erhürman had no such goal.

He said Erhürman's statement that “even in the final stage of the so-called four-stage methodology, we will not return to the current status quo” did not mean that recognition of the TRNC would be placed on the agenda.

Ertuğruloğlu also said Erhürman's claims that he was conducting these efforts in consultation with Turkey did not reflect the truth.

Recalling Turkish President Erdoğan's remarks, “We will never leave the Turkish Cypriot people alone or helpless. The whole world must know and remember this. The Cyprus cause is not merely a foreign policy issue for us. We do not regard the lack of a solution in Cyprus as a solution, and we stand behind a two-state solution,” Ertuğruloğlu said Erhürman had failed to learn this message and was doing everything he could to avoid committing it to memory.

“Erhürman can claim that all the mistakes he has made were committed through consultations fully aligned with Ankara. As the Foreign Ministry, we need him to explain this. What kind of consultation is this?” Ertuğruloğlu said.