Ertuğruloğlu: “5+1 meeting should not be the continuation of the process that collapsed in Crans Montana in 2017, it will not be”

Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu gave a speech to the Anadolu Agency regarding the informal meeting in 5+1 format to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on 27-29 April 2021 under the leadership of the UN.

Stating that the 5+1 meeting is the proposal of the Turkish Cypriot side and they are pleased that this will take place, Ertuğruloğlu said, “The aim of the 5+1 meeting is to determine whether there is a common ground for a negotiation between the parties. The 5+1 meeting should not be the continuation of the process that collapsed in Crans Montana in 2017, it will not be. Confidence building measures should not be on the agenda at the 5+1 meeting, they will not. At the 5+1 meeting, there will be no issues discussed during the process of unsuccessful inter-communal negotiations that have lasted for 52 years. This meeting is not the beginning of an open-ended negotiation process.”

Emphasising that they will not be in Geneva in order to allow those who try to divert the meeting from its aim, Ertuğruloğlu said that it may not be possible to determine whether there is a common aim at only one meeting, 2 or 3 meetings can be held, but it would not be a useful approach to spread this over a very long schedule.

Ertuğruloğlu also emphasised that they will not accept the presence of a European Union representative at the meeting table where the 5+1 will be held. Minister Ertuğruloğlu said, “If someone from the EU wants to be at the meeting places, they can. They will definitely be in Geneva, they will be able to make bilateral contacts outside the meeting hours.

Upon a question regarding the possibility that UN’s Special Envoy to Cyprus Jane Holl Lute may come to the island next month and contact the parties again, Ertuğruloğlu said “Lute knows very well what the issue is. She also knows the stance of the Turkish Cypriot side and has repeatedly stated that she respects it. “I don’t want to think that she is envisaging an aim outside the framework I am referring to”.

Emphasising that they have rightful doubts due to the experiences they gained from past negotiations, Ertuğruloğlu said that they will attend the meeting in good will, and if the Greek Cypriot side responds in the same way, there will be a forward-looking opportunity.

Ertuğruloğlu stated that if there is no result from the meeting, they act knowing that this is not the end of the world and added “The only option of the Turkish Cypriot people in the world is not to be a partner of the Greek Cypriots. We were partners in the past and we saw what happened, we experienced and we still experience. We have to act by knowing that we have also other options than a new agreement. No one should see the Turkish Cypriots as a people confined to the Greek Cypriots”.

Furthermore, stressing that the foreign policy defended and the principles and stances on the Cyprus issue have not been determined only by themselves Minister Ertuğruloğlu said “The Cyprus cause is a national cause. The Turkish Cypriot people determine how to defend this cause together with the motherland Turkey. Our stance is also the motherland Turkey’s stance.  We continue our way with this consciousness and confidence”.