Türkeş: “We will continue to show goodwill towards the Cyprus negotiations”

The Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Tuğrul Türkeş has said that Turkey will continue to show goodwill towards the Cyprus negotiations.

Türkeş stated that “We want to have good results from this settlement in terms of Cyprus being a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal state and this federal state is a member of the European Union. Turkey supports the negotiators in this regard.”

Speaking at the conference titled ‘Our National Cause – Cyprus’ held at the Centre for Economic and Social Researches (ESAM), Türkeş stated that there are many different aspects which are important to the Cyprus issue.

Türkeş also said that he was both a citizen of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and the Republic of Turkey, and that Cyprus was not only a national cause in Turkey but also a matter to be considered separately, and a cause that is close to his heart as his ancestral home.

Türkeş highlighted that Cyprus is widely regarded as being vitally important in terms of Turkey’s Eastern Mediterranean policy.

“The Cyprus problem is a very complicated issue. The parties which have an interest in Cyprus are not only the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot sides, Greece and Turkey. There are many other parties which have interests in Cyprus”.

The Cyprus problem should only be solved by considering the interests of only the two sides, Türkeş stated. “The Greek Cypriot side consider the Turkish Cypriots as a minority. We, as Turkey, will do whatever is necessary regarding finding a solution to the issue of Security and Guarantees in the Cyprus talks.”

“Both sides in Cyprus are trying to reach a settlement on 5 chapters. They are negotiating these chapters. We maintain our goodwill towards reaching a settlement based on a bi-zonal, bi-communal federal state in Cyprus. As you know, the Cyprus problem has been as an obstacle for Turkey’s EU membership and that is why we wish to have a positive outcome to the negotiations in Cyprus”.