Turkish Cypriot leader, Ersin Tatar, is steadfast in his position regarding a two-state “solution” in Cyprus. As he repeated in his interview with Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, in his opinion the only guarantor of the Turkish Cypriots is Turkey.

If the Greek Cypriots had said “yes” to the Annan plan

In his interview, Ersin Tatar said that “if the Greek Cypriot side had said ‘yes’ (to the Annan plan), there would be very different situations facing us on the island today”. Regarding the negotiations in Crans Montana, he said that “the final card was ‘zero troops, zero guarantees.’ Turkey would give up guarantees on the island, the EU would take over. Turkish soldiers would also withdraw. Impossible. When it wasn’t accepted, it was over.”

He also mentioned that after that he himself was elected and then “a new era began in Cyprus as a result of the assessments we made in the premiership”.

“A New Vision”

“A new vision, a new understanding and a new policy… This is two states. Because if there was a partnership with the EU, Turkey would leave and our security and our presence here might be in jeopardy. It is not possible to accept this. The only guarantee of our existence here is the guarantee of the Republic of Turkey,” he argued.

According to Tatar, “the new policy also includes this. The new policy means an egalitarian national regime based on the equality of sovereign entities. Only by accepting this can negotiations begin.”

Of course there are difficulties

He acknowledged that “of course there are difficulties. Official negotiations must also begin within the parameters we set in the 1960s, which was the bi-communal, bi-zonal federation. There hasn’t been much formal discussion at the moment, but we are in favor of dialogue,” he added.

He argued that “there is no longer a single state in Cyprus. Since an agreement on a federal basis has not produced results after 50 years, all these negotiations have been exhausted, now we say two states. There is no turning back now. There is no such thing as ‘Cyprus belongs to the Cypriots’. Because this phrase essentially serves the E/k”.

On the EU

In his reference to the EU, he said that “the EU questions my 500-year history and says: ‘I annexed Cyprus’” and wondered “from whom did you take Cyprus and annex it?” Who gave you this power? Which right, which law, which regulation, which court?”

“If they have power, so do we. Here there is a Turkey in the name of Cyprus. 85 million today, 100 million tomorrow. Diplomats, experts, historians tell us that we are right. This is enough for us to stand our ground. No one should doubt that we will stand firm,” he said.

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