Erhürman says ground forming for Cyprus talks, but no 5+1 meeting without Turkey

Politics Cyprus problemNikos ChristodoulidesTop NewsTufan ErhurmanturkeyunUnited Nations Erhürman says ground forming for Cyprus talks, but no 5+1 meeting without Turkey Erhürman Says Ground Forming For Cyprus Talks, But No 5+1 Meeting Without Turkey Relevant News Hotel cleaner arrested over jewellery theft in Paphos guest room 13 August 2026 Erhürman says ground forming for Cyprus talks, but no 5+1 meeting without Turkey 13 August 2026 Apartment permits jump 86% as construction speeds up 13 August 2026 Newsroom 13 August 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman said “ground is starting to form for renegotiation” on the Cyprus problem, while ruling out any five-party meeting that does not include Turkey. Speaking in a television interview in the occupied north, Erhürman said there was no alternative to moving in coordination with Turkey. A 5+1 meeting without Turkey is not possible, he said, and no solution agreement can take effect unless Turkey says yes, which applies to the other guarantors as well. He called United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s recent visit a success, saying it was as wrong to describe it as a holiday and a farewell as it was to call it a visit for a solution. Guterres came with a serious team, devoted time to it and asked for the 5+1 to be convened on the basis of confidence-building measures, methodology and substance, Erhürman said. He is not negotiating for the sake of negotiating and wants a result-oriented negotiation, he said, adding that the UN chief wants the same. International developments are for the first time creating a perception that solving the Cyprus problem is necessary for regional stability, he said. Erhürman accuses Christodoulides over crossings and mines On confidence-building measures, Erhürman said discussions focused on crossing points and demining. He accused President Nikos Christodoulides of putting forward crossing points different from those agreed in New York, which he said blocked an agreement. On mines, he said Christodoulides had pushed the issue back to after a solution, citing the presence of tanks. Turning to his August 26 meeting with Christodoulides, Erhürman said he had asked that the two of them meet at least once a week now that tasks had been assigned following the Guterres visit. No specific agenda has been set, he said. Responding to the President’s comments on arrests over the usurpation of Greek Cypriot properties, Erhürman said the phrasing “we will arrest if necessary” showed the arrests were political. He claimed Christodoulides had admitted the law was being used as a political tool. Asked about the solution model, Erhürman said the discussion should cover content, the transitional period and the steps that would make life easier for the communities, rather than the name of the model. Those who said no to federation in southern Cyprus in 2004 were, he said, federalists then and are federalists now. “Foreign minister” says the two sides define the problem differently Turkish Cypriot “foreign minister” Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said declarations of a will for a solution cannot produce a result while the two sides disagree on how the problem is defined. In a written statement, Ertuğruloğlu said he agreed with Erhürman’s repeated references to the Turkish Cypriot side’s will for a solution. He then asked why years of negotiations had failed to deliver if both sides say they want one, and located the answer in the observation that “what one side considers a solution, the other defines as the problem”. Ertuğruloğlu criticised the UN Security Council and the European Union, saying the first created the problem and the second entrenched it. Without international actors correcting the mistakes of the past, he said, there can be no outcome that satisfies the Turkish Cypriot side. He identified what he called an inequality of status as the central issue, arguing that no solution can be expected while the Republic of Cyprus is treated internationally as a state and the Turkish Cypriot side as a community. Without a shared understanding of the nature of the Cyprus problem, he said, declarations from either side about wanting a solution mean nothing. Party official attacks arrests over property Hasan Taçoy, a “member of parliament” and senior figure in the National Unity Party, criticised the Republic of Cyprus over its handling of the property issue, saying its actions create a negative climate and push away the prospect of a just and permanent solution. Taçoy said the property issue cannot be solved through threats. Arrests and court proceedings complicate the issue and widen grievances, he said, and after 60 years the matter now concerns second and third generations. He called the arrests unacceptable in legal and humanitarian terms, and said reason should prevail, with common ground found through consensus rather than an escalation of tensions. Read more: Stumbling back home across the border, 52 years later Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Hotel cleaner arrested over jewellery theft in Paphos guest room Apartment permits jump 86% as construction speeds up Remedica recall leaves seven medicines with no available alternative Orounta fire contained after crews battle blaze near homes (photos) Stumbling back home across the border, 52 years later Cyprus weather: 40C inland with isolated showers in the mountains ‘People are being left unable to wash’: Anger over Neo Chorio water cuts Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.