Negotiations stall on the future of Cyprus

Addressing reporters today (5 Apr), Ersin Tatar, Leader of the Turkish Cypriot Community said, “We don't intend to resume negotiations where they were left off in Crans-Montana. All those opportunities have been exhausted.”

He stated, “The Turkish Cypriots are very frustrated about the embargoes and isolations still imposed on us by the international community, which is very unfair for Turkish Cypriots to be obstructed and to be impeded from economic development and growth.”

He said, “In a way, there is an invisible hand to stop our visibility, that Turkish Cypriots, as if we don't exist, we don't have a state, and we are part of the Republic of Cyprus. That kind of impression somewhere, which is absolutely unacceptable.”

He continued, “We hope very much that the international community will wake up to the reality that there are 2 peoples, 2 democratic states, 2 authorities.”

Answering a question, he said, “We have the full support of Türkiye, and we are continuing - despite these embargoes and isolations - to obviously develop our economy and to offer a better future for our people. But if we are going to have lasting peace on the island which is fair, practical, lasting, and sustainable, it should be definitely on a two-state soluti