Fidan: Confident of Coordinated and Productive Work with Erhürman

Reflecting on his recent meetings with Erhürman during the latter’s Ankara visit, Fidan said, “We have known each other and are aware of each other’s positions. We discussed in detail the issues of foreign policy coordination, unified messaging, shared vision, and coordinated actions. It was a productive and beneficial meeting. I am confident that we will work in a largely coordinated, productive, and harmonious manner.”

Fidan also sent a clear message on the status of Turkish Cypriots, stating, “No one can take away the Turkish Cypriots’ right to exist as an equal sovereign entity. Neither the Greek Cypriots nor we, as a guarantor country, will allow Turkish Cypriots to be reduced to a second-class status on the island. Either equality prevails, or it does not.”

He described the current two-state framework as the most effective model to guarantee equality and prevent conflicts, adding that any impression of openness to alternative solutions due to international pressures or Greek Cypriot-Greek narratives would be historically misleading.

Fidan further noted, “Everyone knows that Greek Cypriots will never agree to divide everything equally with Turkish Cypriots. Historically, during the Annan Plan, Turkish Cypriots were supposed to share administration equally and governance would rotate. But the Greek Cypriots, currently in control of all state institutions, would not have accepted that model.”

He also highlighted the benefits that Greek Cypriots have derived from Turkey’s 1974 Peace Operation, adding that the operation ensured the safety and security of Turkish Cypriots in the north while allowing Greek Cypriots in the south to benefit most from the status quo.