President Tatar: “We have now brought our voice and our thesis to the world agenda”

President Ersin Tatar stated that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is a sovereign state which is known by the whole world and added that a two-state solution model is being discussed in the whole world including the Greek Cypriot side. Tatar stressed “We have now brought our voice and our thesis to the world agenda”.

President Tatar held a video conference with heads of different civil organisations in relation to the latest developments on the Cyprus issue and current affairs. President Tatar stated that a “new page” has been opened following the Presidential election, adding that he was “putting forward a new policy and vision based on the political will of the people and the authority which has been afforded to me”.

President Tatar said “for any agreement to be sustained there is need for the approval of the two peoples,” adding: “The TRNC is a sovereign state. The world accepts the existence of the TRNC and acknowledges and respects that Turkish Cypriots are a separate people. A two State settlement is being debated in different parts of the world, including the Greek Cypriot side,” he said.

The President added: “The recognition of the sovereignty of the Turkish Cypriot people is very important.  The coordinated efforts between the TRNC and the Republic of Turkey have created a strong and consistent position for the Turkish side.”    He added that the policy developed unanimously with the Republic of Turkey for a solution model to be based on sovereign equality based on the existence of two States, has come to the agenda of the world.

“Turkey is a powerful, leading country in the eastern Mediterranean,” President Tatar said. “The guarantee of Turkey is a red line of the Turkish Cypriot side.  Messages are being communicated to the whole world in relation to the increasing importance of the TRNC which is located in Blue Homeland. We have at long last carried our voice and policy to the agenda of the world.”

Emphasising the position of the Turkish side in relation to the Cyprus issue, President Tatar stated “negotiations for a federation, on-going for over 50 years, have been exhausted. The understanding of a federation is very different between the Turkish Cypriot side and the Greek Cypriot side. The Greek Cypriot understanding of a federation envisages the diminishing of the influence of Turkey in Cyprus over a period of time. It also envisages for the Turkish Cypriot people to be patched onto the Republic of Cyprus.”   Stressing that the Turkish Cypriot people, who have the right to self-determinate “are not without alternatives,” the President said “our state will exist forever, with or without a settlement.”