Presidential Spokesman Burcu: “Limiting President Tajani’s contact programme to South Cyprus means disregarding the Turkish Cypriot people”
8 December, 2017North Cyprus promoted at Travel Turkey İzmir 2017 Tourism Fair and Congress
11 December, 2017During an official visit to Greece this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
At the conference, Erdoğan spoke about the Cyprus negotiations process: “I followed the Cyprus negotiations closely and I am well aware of who left the arena during the process. I can easily provide documents and information as proof of this issue. I think that many issues can be overcome if we pay attention to this fact.”
Emphasising that he has been closely involved in the Cyprus issue, President Erdoğan said: “The real summit took place at the meetings held in Bürgenstock in 2004. At a meeting at Davos, I asked Kofi Annan to take up the Cyprus issue and he said that he had tried three times before with no success and did not wish to try again. I pressed him again on this and he called me back after almost 10 days. During the call, he said that he had set up initial talks and that we could begin. We began the process and made the final preparations at Bürgenstock. We came together with all the Prime Ministers of the guarantor countries and Kofi Annan. When it came to the decisive moment, the Greek Cypriot side wanted to leave the table. Kofi Annan said that he had promised this issue would be resolved. All parties signed and the referendum was held in Cyprus. However, 65 % of the Turkish Cypriot people said yes but the great majority of the Greek Cypriots said no to the referendum.
Erdoğan continued: “After that, South Cyprus became an EU member. This year, the guarantor countries came together again in Switzerland at Crans-Montana and once again South Cyprus left the negotiating table.”
Pointing out that their aim was to find a permanent and fair solution to the Cyprus issue, Erdoğan said: “We shall continue to seek a solution. I followed the Cyprus negotiations closely and I am well aware of who left the arena during the process. I can easily provide documents and information as proof of this issue.”