President Tatar makes a statement following his meeting with Holguin

Following the meeting, President Tatar made a statement and stressed that they had a “productive meeting”. He emphasised that Ms Holguin’s visit was in preparation for the “upcoming 5+UN meeting to be held in New York on July 16–17,” under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

“In the meeting today, I particularly expressed my disappointment about the lack of progress in relation to crossing points,” President Tatar said. “As it is known, I have tried hard to make progress on the opening of a new crossing point, having proposed crossing points for Haspolat and Akıncılar — located on the east-side of Lefkoşa, that would aleviate traffic congestion at the Metehan crossing point, but the Greek Cypriot leader is continuing to insist on a transit corridor, which has nothing to do with a crossing point between the North and the South,” he said.

“As I stated to Ms. Holguin, 65 per cent of vehicle crossings take place through the Metehan checkpoint. The traffic congestion there is causing frustration to both Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots, who are expecting us as the two leaders to resolve this issue. I find it difficult to understand why the Greek Cypriot leader rejects our proposal to open a new crossing point in Haspolat and Akıncılar, which would be a win-win for all sides,” President Tatar said.

Referring to the Geneva meeting, President Tatar stated that the Greek Cypriot side “sidestepped the crossing point issue”, even though “the UN Secretary-General was present and heard the discussions” and emphasised that the crossing points are crucial for improving relations and people-to-people contacts between the two sides.

President Tatar pointed out his support for a technical committee on youth, mine clearance efforts, and solar energy projects. Regarding solar energy, he said: “If 35 per cent of electricity is produced from solar energy for the Turkish side, then that connection must be made directly to us. Every Turkish Cypriot would expect this. If all the energy is given to the South, and it is up to the Greek Cypriot Electricity Authority to arbitrarily allocate us 35 per cent,that is unacceptable. Electricity produced for the Turkish side must go directly to our own electricity authority. These are technical matters, but ultimately, it is an issue of sovereignty.”

President Tatar stated that they would approach the New York meeting “constructively,” and said he had conveyed to Ms Holguin their “concerns regarding the property issue” and the “Greek Cypriot acts of intimidation of our people and investors”. He noted that he had “sent a letter about this matter to the UN Secretary-General about three weeks ago”, which was “taken into consideration by the Security Council and included in official reports”.
Reaffirming that he is “open to dialogue and to cooperation initiatives that are aimed at improving relations with the Greek Cypriot side,” President Tatar said: “I will be heading to New York with a constructive attitude in the hope that we can make progress on the cooperation initiatives, so that we can give good news to both Turkish Cypriot People and Greek Cypriot People”.
Tatar concluded his remarks with the following:

“All these people are going to New York for a two-day meeting. If we are going all that way, then something meaningful should come out of it.  I have stated to Ms Holguin that we really want progress to be made on the crossing point issue, which will benefit both sides. This is, I believe, very important. I assured her that we are always open to constructive dialogue for mutually beneficial cooperation”.