Greek Cypriots ask New York diplomats to ‘refrain’ from meeting Turkish Cypriots

The Greek Cypriot side asked diplomats and representatives of governments attending the United Nations general assembly in New York to “refrain” from meeting Turkish Cypriots, the Cyprus Mail has been informed. A letter seen by the newspaper, which was sent to the permanent representatives to the UN of all its member states warned them that the Cypriot government had acquired “information that representatives of the secessionist entity are currently in New York seeking meetings to promote their secessionist policies”. In doing this, the letter read, they were “exploiting the presence of high-level officials”. “The permanent mission of the Republic of Cyprus respectfully requests the esteemed permanent missions and observer missions to refrain from any contact or meetings with representatives of the secessionist entity, in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the United Nations security council,” said. Related Articles • Foreign ministry tells embassies to stay away from Dana Cyprus problem briefing • Dana’s briefing goes ahead, Erhurman says ‘this is something the world needs to see’ • Request to change Harmanci’s title came from government • Erhurman: Efforts are being made to make Turkish Cypriots walk away from table • European Commission sidesteps question on Barcelona camp in north • Letymbiotis on Barcelona camp: We are doing exactly what a recognised state should The letter bore the seal of the Republic of Cyprus’ permanent representative to the UN, and also offered criticism for the speech given to the general assembly by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying that he had displayed “total disregard” for “the relevant UN security council resolutions and the principles of international law”. “Security Council resolutions cannot be applied selectively, nor does the passage of time render them obsolete or weaken the obligation to implement them,” it said. The letter was sent during a week in which little progress was made on the Cyprus problem, despite a flurry of meetings. On this front the Cyprus Mail was informed on Friday night by Greek Cypriot diplomatic sources that Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman “did not consent” to the holding of a tripartite meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The newspaper has also contacted Erhurman’s office and is awaiting a response. Latest episode in deteriorating relations between the sides The letter is the latest episode in what appears to be a deterioration of relations between the island’s two sides, with the Cyprus Mail having been informed by diplomatic sources at missions in Nicosia last month that the foreign ministry had been telephoning them, telling them not to attend a briefing which was to be given by Erhurman’s undersecretary, Mehmet Dana. Erhurman had said at the time that “this is something the world needs to see”, while also asking, “does this increase trust, or damage it?”, while the briefing did go ahead and, according to diplomatic sources, was “quite well attended”. Since then, throughout the summer, initiatives have been taken by the Greek Cypriot side to bring about the cancellation of international events being held by the Turkish Cypriot community, including a children’s football camp organised by FC Barcelona and a music festival in Kyrenia. Then, after Turkish Cypriot Nicosia mayor Mehmet Harmanci and numerous other speakers, had withdrawn from the Cyprus Forum this week after it changed his title from “mayor” to “leader of the Turkish Cypriot community in Nicosia, the Cyprus Forum’s executive president Nicolas Kyriakides said that the request to do so came from inside the government. “We … received official requests from officials pointing out that [referring to Harmanci as a mayor] is not accepted by the Greek Cypriot side,” Kyriakides told the Cyprus Mail on Friday. Harmanci was joined in withdrawing from the event by Greek Cypriot Nicosia mayor Charalambos Prountzos, and said of this that “what is newsworthy about the recent events surrounding the Cyprus Forum is not my withdrawal, it is my dear friend, Mayor Charalambos Prountzos’ solidarity”