Turkish Cypriots’ will for a solution ‘clear’, Erhurman says

The Turkish Cypriots’ will for a solution to the Cyprus problem is “clear”, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman said on Monday, with reports of a “looser” solution to the Cyprus problem having surfaced in the media over the weekend. “We support the efforts of [United Nations] Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] within the framework of our people’s will for a solution,” he said, adding that “the will for a solution, which the Turkish Cypriot people have demonstrated many times before, is clear”. He pointed out that “numerous articles and news reports on the subject are being published in the Greek Cypriot press these days”, but stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side is “explaining our views to all relevant sides in line with the methodology and principles which we have repeatedly shared with the public”. “All sides know that our intention is not to negotiate for the sake of negotiating, but to negotiate for a solution, and that we will not enter into an open-ended process which will not yield results and will ultimately take us back to square one,” he said. Related Articles • Enlarged meeting ‘not an end in itself’, Letymbiotis says • Reported new Cyprus problem plan ‘neither necessary nor appropriate’ • Erhurman meets predecessors as Cyprus problem efforts ramp up • Erhurman: No lack of understanding with Turkey • Holguin sets out timeline for Cyprus problem next steps after meeting leaders • Erdogan green-lights ‘new initiative’ on Cyprus problem – sources On this matter, he said that he is “of the understanding that there are increasingly intense discussions in the south” on the matter of a solution to the Cyprus problem, whereas “previously it was generally the opposite”, but that “a significant proportion of these discussions are completely unfounded and baseless”. “We are continuing to take the issue seriously. We have no intention of playing games through the media. We are calm, composed, patient, and we are consistently and steadily explaining the framework and approach which we have presented, and we are determined,” he said. He pointed out that the Turkish Cypriot people “experienced great disappointments in 2004 and 2017”, with the failure of the Annan plan referendum and the collapse of negotiations in the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana, and said that as such, “we will never allow them to experience another disappointment in 2026”. “There are some ideas being put forward at the moment, but nothing has reached a level of significance which would warrant public discussion, let alone acceptance,” he said. He added that “of course, initiatives regarding the Cyprus issue are being evaluated by many actors internationally”, but stressed that “as everyone understands, when a ‘five-plus-one’ is mentioned, the final say belongs to the two sides, one of which is the Turkish Cypriot people, and the three guarantor countries”. A “five-plus-one” is the name sometimes given to an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the United Nations. It is expected that the next such meeting will be held either late next month or in early August. Erhurman on Monday went on to say that “the Turkish Cypriot people are the subject resolving this issue, and when any meaningful discussion arises, they will be informed of it in a timely manner, accurately, and without distortion”. “As we have done until now, we will continue to treat the issue seriously, neither selling despair nor engaging in the trade of false hope,” he said.