Erhurman tells Guterres of need to end ‘unfair and illegal’ isolations on Turkish Cypriots

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Wednesday told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the Turkish Cypriot community is subject to “unfair and illegal isolation” and that this “should be lifted without further delay”.

The meeting was the pair’s first since Erhurman was elected to the office in October last year, with Erhurman’s office stating that it had been held “in a positive atmosphere”.

It added that the pair had discussed “current and regional developments” in addition to the Cyprus problem, and that on the Cyprus problem, they had spoken about “the latest developments on confidence-building measures”.

Additionally, it said that Erhurman had outlined to Guterres his four points which he says must be met for negotiations on the Cyprus problem to recommence in earnest.

Those four points, sometimes referred to as “preconditions” – a term Erhurman resents – foresee that the Greek Cypriot side accept political equality, time-limit negotiations, and preserve all past agreements, and that the UN guarantee that embargoes placed on the Turkish Cypriots be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side leaves the negotiating table again.

Recent reports have suggested that Erhurman has won the support of the United States in his endeavour for those four points to be fulfilled, but some closer to home have appeared less supportive.

President Nikos Christodoulides has thus far appeared reluctant to acquiesce to those four points, however, and said after last month’s tripartite meeting with Erhurman and UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin that “I answered this when I went there, about those four specific points”.

That tripartite meeting ended without result, and as such, Holguin announced in its aftermath that no enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem would be held until more before “results on the confidence-building measures” between the island’s two sides are achieved.

An enlarged meeting would involve the island’s two sides, the UN, and its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the former of those two guarantor powers appeared to be positive towards the idea of progress on the Cyprus problem during a meeting of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara earlier on Wednesday. 

Mitsotakis had told Erdogan of a “window of opportunity” for a solution to the Cyprus to be found, and while Erdogan made no direct reference to the Cyprus problem, he did say that he and Mitsotakis had “openly discussed our positions on the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean”.

“While these issues are complex, they are not insurmountable under international law. All that is needed is good faith. I saw that my friend Kyriakos and I agree on this. The issues must be resolved on the basis of the law. I believe that our relations will make progress towards a solution,” he said.

Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, who travelled to Ankara with Mitsotakis on Wednesday, had earlier said that Erhurman’s election “opens a new chapter of hope and expectations for the island’s reunification”.

More recently, European Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos had last week said she welcomes Turkey’s “engagement” in talks regarding the Cyprus problem following a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, with Fidan and Guterres having held a telephone call to discuss the Cyprus problem on Wednesday morning.

Kos had earlier spoken of an “opportunity” for Turkey to progress its process towards EU accession through Cyprus problem talks.

Erhurman will next meet Christodoulides in Nicosia on February 24