Özgürgün: “Five-party conference should take place by the end of June”
Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün has stated that the five-party conference to negotiate a settlement to the Cyprus problem should take place by the end of June.
His comments came after President Mustafa Akıncı briefed the political party leaders and representatives represented in the Assembly on the latest developments in the Cyprus negotiations process.
In a statement, Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün stated that the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey have taken positive steps during the negotiation process, and that the Geneva Summit, which was convened with the participation of guarantor countries, was the outcome of this approach. Özgürgün added that the aim of the summit was to reach a conclusion to the negotiations, however the Greek Cypriot side and Greece prevented this by requesting a break.
Pointing out that propaganda process for 2018 presidential elections has already begun in South Cyprus, Özgürgün said that the statements of the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades demonstrate that he is mainly focused on the elections, rather than reaching a solution in Cyprus.
Stating that the Geneva Summit should be continued, Özgürgün said, “A summit gathered after 53 years should not be abandoned. It looks like the Greek Cypriot side has no intention of attending this summit, however the five –party conference should be held by the end of June”
Özgürgün stressed that the negotiation process cannot continue forever, and said that it would be unacceptable to drag out negotiations until February 2018 and to continue negotiations with the new Greek Cypriot leader after that.
The Prime Minister added that the Turkish Cypriot side should ensure the continuation of the Geneva process by the end of June, otherwise the necessary steps should be taken to emphasize the stance of the Turkish Cypriot side that the negotiations cannot continue forever.
Ertuğruloğlu: “We are not the Turkish minority of a Hellenistic Island”
In his speech to the TRNC Assembly, Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu stated that Turkish Cypriots are not the Turkish minority of a Hellenistic Island.
Ertuğruloğlu pointed out that no one could answer the question “why don’t the Greek Cypriots want to reach a settlement in the negotiations with Turkish Cypriots”, and that the Greek Cypriots do not need a solution.
He said that no agreement could be reached as long as Turkish Cypriots give the message, “we do not have any chance, and we have to reach a point in the negotiations”. He added, “Why would the Greek Cypriots want to reach such a result”.
Criticizing the recognition of the Greek Cypriots, Ertuğruloğlu asked, “Why should the Greek Cypriots want to share the advantages and benefits of their recognition with the Turkish Cypriots?”
Ertuğruloğlu noted that the Greek Cypriot elections are upcoming, and that the Greek Cypriot people will not support a leader who works for a solution.
The Foreign Minister stressed that there is no chance of success in the negotiation process which has been going on for 50 years, blaming the international community who created this excuse for the Greek Cypriots.
Ertuğruloğlu added that the Turkish Cypriot people are peaceful people who want to protect their rights, and that they are expecting results from the negotiation process.
Akıncı and Anastasiades to meet today
President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiades will meet again today. The leaders’ meeting will be held at the buffer zone within the framework of Cyprus negotiations.
Negotiators Özdil Nami and Andreas Mavroyannis met yesterday in order to prepare for today’s leaders meeting.
President Akıncı held a meeting with the US Ambassador to South Cyprus, Kathleen Doherty yesterday. No statement was made to the press regarding the meeting.
DNA Laboratory represented at the 14th Forensic Sciences Congress
The DNA Laboratory of the Turkish Cypriot Member Office of the Committee for Missing Persons was represented at the 14th Forensic Sciences Congress, which was held between 11-14 May in İzmir-Çeşme. DNA Laboratory Director Dr. Cemal Gürkan made a presentation.
In his presentation, Gürkan gave a short briefing about the project of the Committee on Missing Persons’ and the studies being conducted at the DNA Laboratory within the framework of this project.
Source: TRNC Public Information Office –
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Pictures shown are courtesy of the TRNC Public Information Office Facebook page.
It’s time to present a united front with the Cyprus negotiation as a single voice of TCs. This has been lacking and small noisy splinter groups have been making their voice heard more compared to what the majority of TCs want. Good on you Hüseyin Özgürgün for making this possible.