Türkiye reiterates two-state solution for Cyprus in UN meeting
ANKARA
Türkiye has explained in detail its vision for a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem at a meeting with a senior U.N. official, Turkish diplomatic sources have said, ahead of a key five-way meeting in Switzerland on the decades-old regional conflict.
Sources informed that Deputy Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay held talks with U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo in the capital Ankara on Feb. 13.
Earlier in the week, the U.N. envoy held talks with Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders on the island as well as Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis in Athens for the preparations of a meeting that will take place in Switzerland on March 17 and 18.
The informal conference will bring together Turkish and Greek Cyprus leaders, the foreign ministers of Türkiye and Greece and the deputy foreign minister from Britain as one of the three guarantor countries.
The meeting in Switzerland is not seen as the launch of a new U.N.-led peace process to the question as the Turkish side underlines that it will not negotiate a peace agreement with the same U.N. parameters.
Bozay, therefore, made clear that Ankara supports Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar’s stance concerning the resolution of the problem and assured the U.N. envoy that it is in serious preparation to pledge a constructive contribution to next month’s conference.
Türkiye and the Turkish Cyprus recall that Greek Cyprus has twice rejected U.N.-led plans to create a new state and administration on the island in 2004 and 2017, respectively. They underline that there is a new reality on the island where two different nations live in two different states and a solution should be based on this.
Starting a new effort for a peaceful solution requires the recognition of Turkish Cyprus’ rights of sovereign equality and equal international status, Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot leadership stressed.
Greek Cyprus files complaint against Pakistan
In a related development, Greek Cyprus has lodged a formal complaint with both the United Nations and the European Union over Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s remarks that signaled a potential recognition of Turkish Cyprus.
"Pakistan fully supports the cause of [Turkish Republic of] Northern Cyprus and fully stands by Türkiye on this cause in an unwavering fashion,” Sharif said during a joint press conference with visiting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 13.
The Greek Cypriot Foreign Ministry underscored that the diplomatic protest filed with the U.N. and the EU was necessitated by the absence of direct diplomatic relations between Nicosia and Islamabad.
Decrying Sharif’s statements as "unacceptable," the ministry further called for preemptive measures to obstruct any prospective initiatives, including recognition of Turkish Cyprus.
