DM Monitoring
GENEVA: Peace and stability for the whole region can only be achieved through the cooperation of the two separate states on the island of Cyprus, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated on Wednesday as the United Nations-led Cyprus talks are continuing in Geneva.
In Geneva strong support has been declared for the Turkish Cypriot side’s vision of sovereign and equal international status states, Çavuşoğlu said on Twitter.
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) explained during the meeting why a federal solution, involving a single state with the current Greek Cypriot administration, would not be possible, said Çavuşoğlu, adding that a “fair, permanent and sustainable solution” could only be achieved “based on realities” on the island.
During the 5+1 meeting between the two sides, guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and Britain, Çavuşoğlu also met with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and discussed the solution on Cyprus.
European Union governments hoping to improve relations with Turkey after months of tension are likely to watch the process for signs that Ankara is willing to engage in the talks.
Turkey is also at odds with NATO ally and neighbor Greece over boundaries and mineral rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Geneva meetings could provide an opportunity to continue fence-mending consultations between the two countries despite generally low expectations over the Cyprus talks.
Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong struggle between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
The island has been divided since 1964 when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation led to Turkey’s military intervention as a guarantor power. The TRNC was founded in 1983.
The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the EU in 2004, although most Greek Cypriots rejected a U.N. settlement plan in a referendum that year, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.
An informal meeting on Cyprus began in Geneva on Tuesday, with the UN chief seeking “common ground” for the resumption of talks to find a lasting solution to the decades-old dispute.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres held separate meetings with the leaders of the Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
Ersin Tatar, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), called his meeting with Guterres “productive,” and said his side conveyed its views on the dispute to the UN chief.
“Guterres knows the Cyprus issue well. Now he will discuss the issue with the other side. We will discuss the issue intensively tomorrow and the day after,” Tatar said. Alessandra Vellucci, UN Information Service (UNIS) spokeswoman in Geneva, said that “the informal 5+1 Meeting on Cyprus in Geneva” had begun with a bilateral meeting between Guterres and Tatar. Those talks were followed by a meeting between Guterres and Nicos Anastasiades, leader of the Greek Cypriot administration, at Geneva’s Intercontinental Hotel, not far from the UN’s European headquarters. The UN chief hosted a reception for the heads of delegations later in the evening.
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, and UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab are leading the delegations of the guarantor countries.
