President Tatar receives Holguin

President Ersin Tatar received Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar, the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Cyprus, at the Presidential Palace. Following the meeting, President Ersin Tatar held a press conference. Tatar stated that the Holguin’s latest report was satisfactory, as it clearly expressed that there is no common ground for a new negotiation process in Cyprus.

He noted that Guterres had also stated during the informal meeting in New York in October 2024 that there was no common ground, which opened the way for discussions on what could be done between the two states through cooperation.

Tatar said he had explained to Holguin the need for progress on the six issues agreed upon in Geneva last March and preparations for the meeting scheduled for the end of July.

Tatar also expressed that they did not approve of the Greek Cypriot side’s actions of arresting people and creating pressure by terrorizing them regarding the property issue. He stated that he had explained to Holguín that the approach, especially regarding the issue of property, had deeply upset Turkish Cypriot side, and that this attitude reflected insincerity.

Tatar requested that Holguín convey this issue to Guterres, stating, “This is not something which can be tolerated, and that unless it is corrected, it will not be possible to discuss other matters in an efficient way.”

Addresssing the issue of border border gates, President Tatarr noted that in 2024, eight million crossings took place, half of them through the Metehan Border Gate alone. He emphasized that this volume of traffic at a single point was unsustainable, and highlighted the inadequecy of the Lokmacı Gate’s capacity.

President proposed that the Haspolat and Akıncılar gates could be opened, which can reduce the traffic congestion at Metehan and ease transportation between the two sides. Tatar stated that he presented this suggestion to Holguin, supported by maps, and pointed out that the gate proposed by the Greek Cypriot side was not exactly a border crossing but rather a corridor, which indicates insincerity. He made it clear that proposals which do not qualify as “border gates” needed to be altered