Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has expressed his desire for efforts to begin towards achieving international recognition of the TRNC.
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TRNC News 18.7.2017 Turkish Minister of National Defence Fikri Işık : “No Concessions in Cyprus”
Stating that Turkey has put forth its stance towards finding a solution to the Cyprus problem, Turkish Minister of National Defence Fikri Işık stressed that Turkey will continue in its own way, and will not make any concessions over the Turkish Cypriot people’s national interests in Cyprus.
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TRNC News 10.7.2017 Akıncı: “We are saddened by the result but we did our utmost”
Before leaving Switzerland, President Akıncı evaluated the Cyprus Conference, which took place from 28 June to 7 July 2017 in Crans-Montana, at a press conference. Akıncı said that they are saddened by the outcome, but that they did their utmost to find a solution.
Pointing out that he carried out the negotiations together with the negotiating team during the last two years of the 50-year-old Cyprus problem, Akıncı said, “The real architect of the five-party conference is the Turkish Cypriot side. If we had not made such steady and persistent efforts in this regard, I believe that this process would not have come to this stage, it could not have”.
Stating that it was possible to create an environment from which both sides win, and that they were very close to that point, Akıncı said, “Unfortunately, no result has been achieved and now both sides lost”.
Akıncı emphasized that he wants to make an objective assessment and that all his work has been carried out to establish a bi-communal, bi-zonal federal structure in which Turkish Cypriots would live in equality, security and freedom, and added, “Of course if these conditions will not be available, I cannot recommend our people to make an agreement”
Stating that the Greek Cypriot side said that the failure of the conference was due only to military and security issues, Akıncı pointed to the UN Secretary-General Guterres’ statement and stressed that the failure was not because of the military issue.
Akıncı also said that there was a difference in approach from the beginning of the talks, and claimed that the Greek Cypriot side insistently tried to turn the conference into a conference on security and guarantees.
Erdoğan: “We have a Plan B and Plan C”
In a press conference during the G20 Summit in Hamburg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan evaluated the Cyprus Conference, which has failed after 10 days of negotiations in Switzerland. He said, “The second session of the Cyprus Conference which started on 28 June has been unsuccessful despite all our efforts. The self-sacrificing efforts and the sincere attitudes of both Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side were not reciprocated and we are very saddened by the result. This outcome reached after such long efforts shows the impossibility of finding a solution within the framework of the UN parameters. There is no point in insisting on these parameters any longer”.
Turkey will continue its efforts to find a solution to the problem within different parameters. We expect the same attitude from all related parties. Otherwise, we will assess plans B and C.
Erdoğan also said that they will share the decisions taken in relation to the Cyprus issue with their counterparts.
Özgürgün: “UN Officials should make it clear that a solution cannot be reached within the framework of the UN Parameters”
Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün said that UN Officials should make it clear that a solution cannot be reached within the framework of the UN Parameters, or otherwise uncertainty will continue.
Speaking at an activity, Özgürgün said that the argument that says that nothing can happen if there is no agreement is not true, and that there are many things that can be done even if there is no agreement. Ozgurgun added that the outcome of the Cyprus Conference is due to events from the past.
Indicating that the Turkish Cypriots demand a solution within the framework of the UN parameters which are bi-communality, political equality of the two people and the equal status of two constituent states, Ozgürgün said that the Greek Cypriot side has been rejecting these parameters for 48 years.
The Prime Minister stressed that the Turkish Cypriot people’s only wish is equality, and that they deserve a decent life just like the Greek Cypriots. He also added that the Turkish Cypriots have never proposed to unite the island with Turkey unlike Greek Cypriots who advocate for unification with Greece.
Yildirim : “Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side delegations have done everything they could”
Speaking about the Cyprus Conference, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said, “Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side delegations have done everything they could to find a solution”.
Answering questions from the press, Yıldırım said, “Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side delegations have done everything they could and made a huge effort to have a constructive attitude from the beginning. The Turkish side has always said that they really wanted a solution. However, the unilateral EU membership of the Greek Cypriot side after the referendum in 2004, has prepared the ground for what happened in the conference.
Yıldırım continued, “The Greek Cypriot Administration of South Cyprus did not have a constructive attitude, which was easy for them because they already are an EU member. The issue of ‘Security and Guarantees’ is our sine qua none and there cannot be any concessions on this because we don’t want the terrible events of the past to be repeated”.
Atun participates in the 22nd World Petroleum Congress
Minister of Economy and Energy Sunat Atun is participating in the 22nd World Petroleum Congress that started in Istanbul yesterday.
The congress, of which the main theme is ‘Bridges to our Energy Future’, will continue until the 13th of July and the issues of oil, gas, energy efficiency and regional energy development will be discussed. (BRTK)
Source: TRNC Public Information Office –
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Pictures shown are courtesy of the TRNC Public Information Office Facebook page.
TRNC News 21.6.2017 Ertuğruloğlu received by Turkish President Erdoğan
Minister Ertuğruloğlu was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan yesterday in Ankara, where he travelled to hold meetings ahead of the Cyprus Conference, which will start on 28 June in Switzerland.
During the meeting held at the Turkish Presidency, the Cyprus negotiation process was discussed ahead of the Cyprus Conference in Crans-Montana. The delegations also attended the meeting which lasted for around one hour.
Foreign Minister Ertuğruloğlu also met with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in Ankara the previous day.
Yıldırım: Solution should be reached “as a whole”
Stating that the leaders have to compromise on some issues at the Cyprus Conference in Switzerland, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said that they do not approve of an approach that separates the discussion of the security and guarantees issue from the other issues. Yıldırım said that the solution should be reached “as a whole”.
The Turkish Prime Minister also said that the Cyprus issue was discussed during his meetings in Greece.
He said, “It is still uncertain whether the circumstances will allow the participation of the Prime Ministers of the guarantor countries Turkey and Greece in the meeting in Crans-Montana on 28 June. Cypriot leaders will have to make compromises on some issues. The issues of governance, territory, population, relationships with the EU and freedom following unification should be discussed and solved as a package. It is not certain yet if that would be possible in such a short time. We will follow the process and make any positive contributions towards reaching a solution”.
Eide to hold press conference in Geneva on 27 June
Ahead of the reconvening of the Cyprus Conference on 28 June, the UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide will hold a press conference at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva.
According to a written statement issued by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus, the Cyprus Conference will reconvene in Crans-Montana on 28 June in line with the memorandum issued following the meeting between the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the leaders in New York on 4 June.
Turkish Cypriot pianist Zehra Mirana Faiz gives concert in Hong Kong
Turkish Cypriot artist Zehra Mirana Faiz has given a piano concert in Hong Kong. Faiz represented North Cyprus at the international concert at City Hall, playing to great acclaim.
Source: TRNC Public Information Office –
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TRNC News 20.6.2017 Ertuğruloğlu: “guarantee system without Turkey’s right to unilateral intervention impossible”
Ertuğruloğlu: “A guarantee system without Motherland Turkey’s right to unilateral intervention is impossible”
TRNC Foreign Minister, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, and Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, held an inter-delegation meeting in Ankara. Following the meeting, the two ministers made statements to the press.
Minister Ertuğruloğlu said, “I want to emphasize that a guarantee system which does not include Motherland Turkey’s right to unilateral intervention is not really a guarantee system, and the TRNC government is very decisive and persistent on this point”.
Emphasizing that he does not accept the statements that say that Turkey’s guarantee causes insecurity for the Greek Cypriot side, Ertuğruloğlu said that none of the Turkish Cypriot side or Turkey’s policies have created insecurity for the Greek Cypriots, and this will continue to be the case. He also said that the 1974 Peace Operation happened after the Greek Cypriots’ attempted coup and their willingness to implement Enosis, and that nobody from the Turkish Cypriot side agrees with such arguments that state that “Turkey’s guarantee causes insecurity”.
Ertuğruloğlu said, “The statements of both President Akıncı and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan regarding the issue of territory are essential to us. The Turkish Cypriot people will never accept any settlement except for a partnership based on the political equality of both sides. We are seeking an agreement that guarantees that the 4 freedoms for the citizens of the Republic of Turkey will not be denied and that the island of Cyprus will never be a Greek island”.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated that it is necessary to be well-prepared for the Cyprus conference on 28 June in Crans-Montana, Switzerland.
Çavuşoğlu said, “We are always ready. We have already explained that the conference should be attended without preconditions. We also said that we will not accept the preconditions proposed by the Greek Cypriot side. We consider this conference as the final conference. The Turkish Cypriot side will attend the conference in Crans-Montana well-prepared and self-confident to defend their interests”.
Yıldırım: “The Cyprus issue should be solved for the benefit of both Turkey and Greece”
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım visited Greece upon the invitation of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
In a press conference following his meeting with Tsipras, Yıldırım said that they discussed the issues regarding the EU, Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean and Aegean. He stressed that the energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean are a common heritage of humanity, and that the rights of both sides on the island should be considered when using these resources.
Yıldırım also said that Greece and Turkey decided to “contribute in a positive way” to a Cyprus settlement.
“A solution to the Cyprus issue should guarantee the security and future of both the Turkish and Greek people living on the island,” he said.
Adding that the two countries and Britain will participate in peace talks along with the two Cypriot sides in Switzerland on 28 June, Yıldırım said that efforts should be made towards reaching a settlement in Cyprus within the framework of the UN resolutions and the EU acquisition.
Greek Prime Minister Tsipras said, “We are continuing our efforts to take a further step in Geneva. We are working to reach a solution in Cyprus. We agreed on continuing our cooperation and achieving a solution”.
Source: TRNC Public Information Office –
To read more news and information from the TRNC Ministry of Foreign Affairs, please click here
Pictures shown are courtesy of the TRNC Public Information Office Facebook page.