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"Our sovereign equality must be accepted before formal negotiations can begin," Ersin Tatar said.
In an interview with Turkey's CNN Türk channel, Ersin Tatar commented on the images of E/C priests carrying out shooting, saying that "the church has had a great influence on politics on the E/C side for years" and that E/C side reacted to these images. "This is never acceptable. It was the right thing to do, to bring to light this issue, which was published in a local newspaper," he said.
For an agreement where both sides can live in peace and tranquility on the island, taking into account the realities of Cyprus, the cooperation of "two separate states on the basis of sovereign equality" is required, he argued. "We are also telling the political authorities that if there is to be an agreement in Cyprus, the church should be held back a little," he said. He claimed that "there are two separate sovereign peoples" in Cyprus and that "each people has the right to determine its own future."
Ersin Tatar said they wanted an agreement of "two states living side by side on the basis of sovereign equality in Cyprus," adding that "an agreement on a federal basis, which would refer to a unitary structure, is not possible" and that talks on confederation, which had been tried for years, had not been concluded. He argued that "the Greek side unilaterally became a member of the EU, of which Turkey is not a member" and that the "Greek/Greek duo aims to get Turkey off the island."
The Greek side, he continued, "want us to have losses in the Blue Homeland, the administration of the island to pass to the EU and become a completely Greek island. This is the reason why they also want to abolish Turkey's guarantee regime."
He said that in his appeals to Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades he tells him that there needs to be dialogue because it is beneficial and that through dialogue positions can be developed. "But these are not formal negotiations. If we want formal negotiations, our equality on the international stage must be accepted. We are accepted in these meetings as a community, not as an official state. If there are to be formal negotiations, we must sit at this table with equal status," he said."
Tatar further said that "our sovereign equality must be accepted for formal negotiations to begin" and spoke of the importance of "maintaining the Turkish-Greek balance in the eastern Mediterranean.
On the murder of T/C businessman Khalil Falyali, the T/C leader said "we never condone these events. Our security forces are showing great success, there are some findings, they are very close to solving the case."
Source: CNA
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