Turkey has no hidden agenda in Cyprus, said the Turkish Foreign Minister, again criticizing the Greek Cypriots for not wanting to share the administration and wealth with the Turkish Cypriots, and therefore no solution has been found for years on the Cyprus issue.
In an interview with the Japanese newspaper Nikkei Asia and the question “in case the negotiations fail again, is there a risk that Turkey will definitively annex the TRNC to its own territories?”, the Turkish Foreign Minister replied that “Turkey has no hidden agenda in relation to Cyprus. As in the past, we will always be on the side of the Turkish Cypriot people and the TRNC in their just cause.”
On the Cyprus issue, he said that the Greek Cypriots do not want to share power and wealth with the Turkish Cypriots and that is why the negotiations for years have led nowhere. “With the same Ideas and thousands of times to try, you will not be able to change the result.” He reiterated that Turkey is in favor of a two-state solution in Cyprus based on sovereign equality.
“The Turkish Cypriots are co-owners of the island. Cyprus is also their homeland. For progress to be made, these simple principles must be accepted,” he said. However, he continued, the Greek Cypriot does not see that the Turkish Cypriots are co-owners. Because of this mentality, for 50 years it has not been possible to create a cooperative on the island.
For Çavuşoğlu, the only reasonable way forward on the Cyprus issue is a two-state solution on the basis of sovereign equality. His country, he added, supported from the beginning a just, permanent, and viable solution in Cyprus and contributed to this direction together with the Turkish Cypriots in the international efforts made for this purpose. “We are constructive, but at the same time we want to see results.”
According to the Turkish Foreign Minister, the Republic of Cyprus of 1960 collapsed and it is because of the mentality of the Greek Cypriots that the Annan Plan was rejected in 2004. They showed the same intransigence in 2017 in Crane Montana. For this reason, the model of the bi-communal bi-zonal federation is neither applicable nor viable in Cyprus”.
On the Tatar proposal on two states, Mr. Çavuşoğlu said it is a proposal for a solution based on the realities of the island and could have mutual benefit for both sides. “There are two separate peoples and two separate states in Cyprus. That’s a reality. The Turkish Cypriots are ready to negotiate a model of relationship on the basis of cooperation between two states.
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Along with this, for any negotiation process to succeed, the natural sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriots and their equal international status must be ensured in advance, he added. This is necessary, he argued, so that the status of the Turkish Cypriot people does not remain uncertain in the event of another failure.
The proposed two-state solution will enable sustainable peace, stability, and cooperation both in Cyprus and in the region, according to the Turkish Foreign Minister.
