The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) stands its ground on the controversial "federation" idea for the divided island. A tripartite informal meeting with the U.N. chief will not include the idea, TRNC's top diplomat said Wednesday.
"The secretary-general invited the two leaders to a dinner,” TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu told reporters in Washington, D.C. "They will meet at a three-way dinner in New York on Oct. 15.” "As per the condition we have clearly stated, the dinner will be held in an environment where federation will never be discussed," he said.
Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar announced that he agreed to an informal dinner with Greek Cypriot administration leader Nikos Christodoulides upon the proposal of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly meetings. Stressing that the federation model has completely lost validity, the minister said there are two separate states and peoples on the island.
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Turkish and Greek Cypriots despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Türkiye is a guarantor country for the TRNC and fully supports a two-state solution on the island based on sovereign equality and equal international status between its two states.
Ertuğruloğlu said that he had "concerns" about the dinner. "It may seem very innocent, but I don't believe that it is innocent," he said, referring to previous experiences with the Greek Cypriot administration. The minister said there are some groups that would try to create a perception of a new negotiation process between the two sides based on the federation model. "Despite this, we think it would be wrong to reject the invitation of the secretary-general ... Our concern is that this may be a perception that negotiations have started. We need to be prepared for this ... the existence and sovereignty of the TRNC are not elements on which we can compromise," he said.
He made it clear that if there is to be an agreement, it is possible by accepting the existence of the TRNC. The Cyprus issue will continue if the existence of two states and two nations on the island are not accepted, he stressed.
Turning to tensions in the Middle East, Ertuğruloğlu said since the island is close to the region, it is "inevitable" for the TRNC not to get disturbed. "Because it brings with it the possibility that an operation targeting Southern Cyprus could inadvertently make Northern Cyprus a target as well," he said, adding Southern Cyprus is "making itself a target every day." He said that years ago, a missile from Syria "accidentally" fell into the TRNC. "I don't think the TRNC is a country that can be targeted,” he said, "We can become a target by mistake.” The minister also said it is "out of the question" for the TRNC to accept the aggression of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
