Northern Cyprus’ president denies Greek Cypriot leader’s claim of trilateral meeting

ISTANBUL

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar on Sunday dismissed the Greek Cypriot leader’s assertion of a planned trilateral meeting with the UN chief.

Tatar’s reaction came after Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday announced a trilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York on Aug. 13 to “discuss and pave the way for the resumption of talks” on the island’s future.

Tatar clarified there was no such invitation from the UN and reiterated that the TRNC would not take part in a meeting under the current conditions, citing a lack of proper groundwork.

Tatar underlined that the Turkish side’s stance remains firm, with no return to negotiations over a federal solution. “No one should expect negotiations to start from where they left off in Crans-Montana. The search for a federal solution ended there,” he said in a statement on the presidential website, referring to failed 2017 talks in a Swiss municipality.

Tatar stressed that any future negotiations over Cyprus must recognize the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot side.

He accused Greek Cypriot administration leader Nikos Christodoulides of attempting to create a fait accompli and pressure the Turkish side. “The Greeks are again pursuing a game. The Greeks’ intentions are to shape perceptions and try to put the Turkish side under pressure. We will not fall for these games,” Tatar said.

The TRNC president urged the Greek Cypriot leader to abandon unrealistic expectations and consider the island’s realities, saying: “Christodoulides should stop chasing pipe dreams and take into account the realities on the island.”

Decades-long dispute

The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, the same year that Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.

Türkiye fully supports a two-state solution on the island of Cyprus based on sovereign equality and equal international status.​​​​​​​

• Ersin Tatar
• Nikos Christodoulides
• Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres