Filenews 11 March 2021 - by Andreas Pibisis
Between the European Union and Britain the answer is easy for the Turkish side. He prefers the British and this is not surprising, as their steps were more in sync with those of the Turkish Cypriot side than those of the Greek Cypriots. On the other hand, the steps of the Greek Cypriots are clearly in sync with those of the EU, as opposed to Turkey and the occupying regime.
Ersin Tatar, in new statements to the English-language service of Turkish state television TRT World (a source of GM) referred to the Cyprus issue by comparing the role that the EU and Britain can play. According to the leader of the Turkish Cypriots:
- The EU is a party to Cyprus because the "Greek Cypriot side" as it described the Republic of Cyprus and Greece are members. He said he would not be in favour of EU participation at the negotiating table and that only people who approve of both sides would be able to participate in the negotiations.
· Tatar said Britain would sit at the negotiating table because it is a guarantor power and not because it knows the Cyprus issue well. He said Britain was actively involved in getting the two sides to reach an agreement and that British Foreign Secretary Dominique Raab made it clear that both sides must be reasonable and flexible if an agreement is to be reached in Cyprus.
In London, the British Deputy Foreign Secretary, Lord Ahmad, in response to a question from a member of the House of Lords, said that "resolving the Cyprus issue remains key to resolving wider tensions in the region" and the UK supports the efforts of the UN SG. He added that the UK is actively working with the other parties ahead of the five-party meeting "to encourage them to approach the meeting in a spirit of flexibility and compromise." Finally, he said the UK's exit from the EU does not affect the country's role as a guarantor of power.
Olgun: Content will not be discussed
The informal five-party conference in Geneva is a meeting to determine whether there is common ground to move on to negotiations, Turkish Cypriot negotiator Ergun Olgun said after his meeting with Jane Hall Lutt (a GM source).
E. Olgun said Lutt indicated that to overcome the current impasse, ideas new, creative and outside moulds are needed, rather than on the basis of the negotiations that have gone through so many years of failures and collapses.
He concluded by saying: "I made it clear to Lutt that the reason for the inability to find a solution to the Cyprus problem for over half a century is the hegemonic attitude of the Greek Cypriot side, that the procedures that have failed over the years have demonstrated the reality that the old basis is not really appropriate for the conditions of Cyprus and that as a Turkish Cypriot side there is no consent to continue any process on this basis."
Meeting Dendias with Lutt
A meeting with the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Cyprus Jane Hall Lutt, who was in Athens, was held yesterday by Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.
At the heart of the meeting was the upcoming informal conference on the Cyprus issue to be held in Geneva in April, according to a foreign ministry post on twitter.
It was preceded by Lutt's visit to Nicosia where she held talks with President Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar. Jane Hall Lutt will return to New York, pending an appointment for Ankara. The Turkish government has not yet set a date for Lutt's transition to Ankara.
