Nami: UN Must Prevent Attempts To Reopen Past Convergences

Stressing the need to focus on a structured negotiation process that includes a timetable, arbitration and an equal trade-off, Nami underlined that President Tufan Erhürman’s four-pillar proposal constitutes a call in this direction.

In an assessment made in light of the latest meetings and evaluations on the resumption of Cyprus negotiations, Nami said it would be useful to recall the 11 February 2014 Eroğlu–Anastasiadis Joint Declaration.

Nami noted that statements by the Greek Cypriot leadership calling for negotiations to resume “from where they left off” should be understood as a confirmation of all agreements and convergences achieved up to the Crans-Montana process, including the 11 February 2014 document. He stressed that the declaration clearly sets out political equality, sovereignty and many other critical elements, and that this framework must not be ignored.

Emphasising that the United Nations’ priority should be to prevent efforts to push the parties into renegotiating issues previously agreed upon, Nami said that before moving into unresolved substantive chapters, the sides should be guided towards focusing on a process design incorporating a timetable, arbitration and equal trade-offs. He added that President Erhürman’s four-pillar proposal is, in essence, a call for such an approach.

In his statement, Nami also shared the full Turkish text of the 11 February 2014 Eroğlu–Anastasiadis Joint Declaration. The declaration underlines that the status quo in Cyprus is unacceptable and unsustainable, and states that the solution process must be Cypriot-led and Cypriot-owned. It further notes that the United Nations will support the process within the framework of its good offices mission, at the request of the parties.