A cooperation proposal offered by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) to the Greek Cypriot administration is a plan that will serve the common interests of stakeholders in the region, the special representative of President Ersin Tatar said Thursday.
Ergün Olguns spoke to the Anadolu Agency (AA) regarding the cooperation proposals presented by President Tatar to the Greek Cypriot administration through the United Nations, including hydrocarbon, electricity, renewable energy and water.
"These offers are not meant to be thrown lightly, they are serious. These proposals are designed to serve the common interest of stakeholders throughout the region, they will leave a mark," he said.
Stating that they conveyed the four-point cooperation proposals prepared by the TRNC to the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades through the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, to the Deputy Secretary-General of the U.N. Miroslav Jenca, Olgun said that the letter had reached Guterres.
"Our request from the U.N. secretary-general is to make suggestions that will enable the Greek Cypriot side to view our cooperation offer with a constructive eye, and to share these suggestions with the Greek Cypriot side," he added.
The U.N. recently said the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot administration should benefit from natural resources in and around the Cyprus island and urged cooperation between both communities on energy projects in a report obtained Tuesday by the AA.
These resources should "constitute a strong incentive for the parties to urgently seek mutually acceptable and durable solutions to disagreements," Guterres said in the report, which covers developments on Cyprus island from Dec. 16, 2021, to June 14, 2022.
It said public confidence in the possibility of securing a settlement on the island has remained low.
Guterres voiced concern about tensions in and around the island and urged relevant parties to refrain from unilateral actions which he said could heighten tensions.
The report revealed that internal political developments and socio-economic issues dominated public debate and media attention in both communities.
"The Turkish Cypriot political landscape has been characterized by uncertainty and increasing polarization. In the Republic of Cyprus, unofficial campaigning for the presidential elections scheduled for February 2023 has started," it said.
The report also noted that prospects for reaching common ground on the Cyprus peace process remain uncertain for the time being, citing the continued absence of "substantive dialogue" on the issue between the two sides and given the prevailing socio-economic and political climate.
"It should be recalled that the future of the process remains in the hands of the parties. As we continue to support them in seeking common ground, the parties' display of political will and flexibility remain of paramount importance," the U.N. chief said in the report.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom.
The Greek Cypriot administration entered the European Union in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted the U.N.'s Annan plan to end the longstanding dispute.