His position that for formal talks to resume, sovereign equality and the equal international status of the TCs must be accepted, was reiterated to Victoria Nuland by T/C leader Ersin Tatar.
In remarks after the meeting with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Tatar said they first had a one-on-one meeting and then an inter-delegation meeting, he said. "If there is an agreement, the sovereign equality and the international equal status of the Tk people who have struggled, past and sacrificed on this island and now as Tk people should definitely be recognized."
He also reiterated that the rights of the Tk people stem from the 1960 agreements and tried, he said, to explain to Ms. Nuland his new vision, which he also presented at the informal meeting in Geneva last April with Turkey's full support.
"If our sovereign equality and equal international status is not accepted, the existence of Turkish Cypriots on this island may even be endangered in any future structure and such a solution cannot be viable." Because, he argued, from their past experience, some circles in "southern Cyprus" in his words - see Cyprus as a Greek island.
If, he continued, there is an agreement within this vision and Cyprus is an EU member while Turkey is not, there are zero guarantees and zero troops and Turkey's guarantee rights are cancelled and there is a change with EU security mechanisms, "then this can be assessed as a very negative development."
According to Ersin Tatar, the TCs do not want to return to the pre-1974 situation. "And I explained this to her in detail and with arguments."
MOU
He also mentioned to the American official, he continued, that they always look warmly on contacts, dialogue and cooperation on various issues on the island. "But of course when it comes to the issue in the MOU, we cannot accept proposals that seek to extend the sovereignty of southern Cyprus to the north. Because the essence of the Cyprus issue is the sovereignty issue." Therefore, he said, such measures should not harm the power and sovereignty of the sides, so they should be created and promoted.
Ukraine
On the issue of Ukraine, Tatar said he agreed with the view of further integration of democratic values, saying that we experienced similar situations in Cyprus, "but the world and the UN remained spectators to them." But, he continued, in 1974 the Turkish Republic came in the name of the TCs and now there is a new structure here and since then there has been peace on the island, he said.
Energy
The processes in the Eastern Mediterranean are extremely important for the continuation of the Turkish-Greek balance both in shaping the relations between the two "peoples" in his words for the Greek and Turkish Cypriots and in the stability of regional balances. He reiterated that the proposal of the Turkish Cypriot side submitted in 2019 for the extraction and joint exploitation of natural deposits around the island is still on the table. "From a human rights point of view, it is the most correct management and this is the way it should be done," he said.
He argued that the gas pipeline from the eastern Mediterranean to the EU, which is energy dependent on Russia, should go from Cyprus to Turkey and from there to Europe and the TCs should be involved in these processes.
One of the biggest problems on the island, he continued, is energy, especially now due to the increased price of oil internationally.
He also referred to the need to further develop solar energy, from which both communities will benefit through the unified electricity system. The interconnection by cable from Turkey to the EU energy system will - he added - lead both sides to high quality, sustainable and widespread use of solar and photovoltaic energy. For the US to make an assessment on this issue is very important, Tatar told Nuland.
It should be noted that the T/C association "Federated Cyprus" was waiting for the US official after she went to the occupied territories from the barrier of Ledra Pallas with a banner in favour of a federal solution and peace in Cyprus.
Source: CNA
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
