Ersin Tatar: EU Surrenders to the Greek Cypriot Side

President Tatar emphasized once again that the Summit Conclusions of the European Council underscore the fact that the EU cannot be impartial.

President Tatar made the following explanation in his statement:

"The expressions regarding the Cyprus issue in the Summit Conclusions of the European Council announced on April 17, 2024, on Ukraine, the Middle East, and Turkey, once again highlight the fact that the EU cannot be impartial.

First and foremost, we would like to draw attention to the fact that the problem they imported to the EU twenty years ago, contrary to their own membership criteria, started as a result of the attempts of the Greek Cypriot leadership, which abolished the partnership state by force of arms in 1963, to tie the Island to Greece.

If the official negotiations that started in 1968 have remained inconclusive until today, the responsible party is the Greek Cypriot leadership, which has been allowed to maintain the status quo it usurped in 1963 until today.

Attempting to impose the federation model, which collapsed once again in Crans-Montana in 2017 and was ultimately consumed, is tantamount to ignoring the will of the Turkish Cypriot side that has consented to this model. This attempt also serves to thwart any possible effort.

The only task of María Ángela Holguín Cuéllar, appointed by the UN Secretary-General as his Personal Representative for a period not exceeding six months as of January 5, 2024, is to investigate whether there is a common ground between the two sides for transitioning to a new and official process. Holguín continues her contacts within this framework. The appointment of a Personal Representative by the UN Secretary-General for this task is a clear indication that there is no longer any common ground for any compromise regarding the federation.

It should be known that there will be no process on a consumed ground from which the Turkish Cypriot side has withdrawn its consent, and the Turkish Cypriot side will not engage in an exercise whose failure has already been proven. A new and official process can only start on the basis we presented at the 5+UN meeting held in Geneva in April 2021, with the confirmation of our sovereign equality and equal international status.

Under these circumstances, linking Turkey-EU relations to a process regarding the Cyprus issue is nothing more than a futile discourse aimed at advancing the Greek Cypriot position. The main responsibility for the Cyprus issue remaining unresolved lies with the maximalist attitude of the Greek Cypriot leadership and those who support the continuation of this attitude.

We invite the EU to abandon being a captive of the Greek Cypriot side and to fulfill the decision it made twenty years ago with another Council decision to lift the inhumane isolation imposed on the Turkish Cypriot People."