‘This time it must be different’ – Erhurman evaluates Guterres meeting

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman stressed that the next round of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem must not follow the patterns of previous attempts while evaluating his first meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, saying that “this time it must be different”.

“I shared with the secretary-general face to face my view that, especially in light of previous experiences and the disappointments suffered by Turkish Cypriots, what is important to me is not that the meetings are for the sake of meetings, but that this time, they are for the sake of reaching a solution,” he said after the meeting.

To this end, he said he “had the opportunity to share with him that we have developed our four-point proposal, based on his own frequently used phrase, ‘this time it must be different’”.

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.

Erhurman described the meeting as “productive”, saying that it was “extremely important to be able to see and discuss the fact that the secretary-general and his team continue to be interested in the Cyprus problem”.

This interest, he said, “will manifest in more frequent contact” between himself and Guterres, who he said is “aware of and takes into account the disappointments experienced by Turkish Cypriots to date”.

“The line of ‘this time it must be different’ continues in this vein,” he said, having earlier stressed that “it was extremely important for me to see that the secretary-general’s interest in the Cyprus problem resolution process has not waned”, and that Guterres Is “well-versed in the issues”.

He also said that he had “shared the progress we have made in our discussions … regarding confidence-building measures” with President Nikos Christodoulides, and that “our fundamental view was that solutions to confidence-building measures should be found in Nicosia, rather than through enlarged meetings”.

“We reiterated this point, explaining that finding solutions in Nicosia would demonstrate the commitment of both leaders to improving the daily lives of their people – Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots – and increasing contact between them. Therefore, finding solutions in Nicosia is crucial,” he said.

He added to this end that “addressing these issues in the enlarged meeting, as happened in Geneva and in New York, was not only unnecessary, but did not send a positive message regarding the capacity of the two leaders to find solutions to problems”.

“I also had the opportunity to share with the secretary-general the question that both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots alike ask, and that I sometimes raise myself: ‘how can two leaders who cannot even agree on a few crossing points find a solution to an issue like the Cyprus problem, which has been going on for decades?’,” he said.

No crossing points have been opened between Cyprus’ two sides since the Apliki and Dherynia crossing points were opened in 2019.

In recent weeks, discussions on the Cyprus problem had been dominated by the question of whether or not an enlarged meeting, similar to those held in Geneva and New York last year, involving the island’s two sides, the UN, and its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, would be convened.

However, a tripartite meeting involving Erhurman, Christodoulides, and UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin in Nicosia held last month 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.

That notwithstanding, Greece and Turkey 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  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.

Elsewhere, 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