Presidential Spokesperson Burcu: “UN Report is a great injustice”

Presidential Spokesperson Barış Burcu has described the report of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to the members of the UN Security Council regarding the Cyprus negotiations as containing “serious injustices.”

Barış Burcu this week issued a written statement regarding the report of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered to members of the UN Security Council on the negotiation process in Cyprus, including the period from 12 August 2017 to 21 May 2018.

“The Secretary-General has overlooked the positive aspects of the Turkish Cypriot side and the negative approaches of the Greek Cypriot side in this process, with the intention of creating a balance between the two sides. This is a great injustice towards the Turkish Cypriot side, as was the case with the report delivered in last September,” Burcu said.

The Spokesperson added that although there are concrete examples of collaboration between the two sides being blocked by the obstructive stance of the Greek Cypriot side, including schemes to enable the use of mobile phones on both sides and the permanent linking of the electricity grids under the Confidence Building Measures, this has been ignored once more by the UN.

Pointing out to the Secretary-General’s statement in the report urging the use of natural resources for the benefit of both communities and encouraging parties not to create tension but rather to act calmly, Burcu said: “The Turkish Cypriot side has always made warnings to avoid unilateral moves on this matter, and repeatedly presented proposals to manage the natural resources in a common manner for the benefit of both communities.”

He continued, “The issue of hydrocarbons, as Secretary General Guterres noted in his report,  will be a federal issue if a solution is realized, and any decision regarding these resources would involve the active participation of both communities. However, a solution has not yet been reached. For this reason, it is therefore necessary that the same understanding is reflected in the approach before any solution.The Secretary-General has also already recommended in his report that the differences in this issue should be handled peacefully by the parties before the solution.”

Burcu added: “Secretary General Guterres confirmed once again in his report that the framework (the “Guterres framework”) that covered his views on six issues was presented to the parties in Crans-Montana on 30 June 2017, as we have repeatedly underlined.”

Stating that Secretary General Guterres intends to send a senior UN official to the island in order to determine whether the conditions for a new and meaningful process have emerged, Burcu confirmed that the Turkish Cypriot side has ratified the nomination of this UN official. Burcu noted that the foreseen meetings may occur at the appropriate time in this framework.