TRNC Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu evaluated the 5+UN informal meeting held in Geneva to the Milliyet newspaper in Turkey.
Ertuğruloğlu said “We claimed our honour, state, sovereignty and freedom in Geneva. We continued our struggle by presenting once again that we will never give up the full and effective presence of the Turkish military.
We knew what the Greek Cypriot side would say, they didn’t surprise us. What needs to be criticised is the Cyprus policy of the international community.
53 years have been stolen and wasted. They locked us in a process that had no chance of success. We took part in all processes by showing good intentions. We also responded positively to every proposal which had a possibility for an agreement. However, the Greek Cypriot side never paid the price despite the intransigence exhibited for years, on the contrary they were rewarded. We did not put forward an attitude of intransigence. We demand our rights”.
Stating that the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres intends to hold a further 5+1 meeting in 2-3 months, Ertuğruloğlu continued, “We, as the Turkish Cypriot side, are not against this. It was the Greek Cypriot side who refused this and set the condition. They declared that ‘if the Turkish Cypriot side makes a new move regarding Maraş and hydrocarbon research in the sea, they will not participate in the 5+1 meetings again’. They once again showed the uncompromising attitude of a side that has been pampered for years. The decision of whether to call or not for a meeting belongs to the UN Secretary General. If he calls, we will be there, but we are not going to deviate from the position we put forward in Geneva.”
Ertuğruloğlu stated that TRNC want to become a state demanding recognition and said “If it is refused, we are determined to take steps by ourselves for recognition. What we demand from the UN Security Council is to ensure the equal international status of the sides. The EU also gets involved in the issue in this way. We cannot continue from where we left off, the period for a federation is over. There is not any other alternative than to turn a new page”.
Source: TRNC Public Information Office
