Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman late on Tuesday night confirmed that he had rejected a proposal put forward to him by President Nikos Christodoulides to open and repopulate the fenced-off area of Varosha under the United Nations’ administration and open the port of Famagusta under the European Union’s control.
“Handing over Varosha to the United Nations’ administration, within the framework of the security council resolutions, and opening the port of Famagusta under EU control. That is what is being said,” he told political talk show Er Meydani.
However, he said, “the port of Famagusta is an open port, it is not a closed port”, before elaborating that “the problem with our ports is that we cannot trade directly with the European Union”.
Asked whether the opening of the port of Famagusta would entail the implementation of the EU’s direct trade regulation, which has remained dormant since 2004 after it was drafted following the Greek Cypriot side’s rejection of that year’s Annan plan referendum, he answered in the negative.
“Is this the entry into force of the direct trade regulation? No, it is not the entry into force of the regulation, but since [the port] would be under EU control, direct trade would begin,” he said.
As such, he said, the proposal was unbalanced.
“Why is this the price for handing over Varosha to the UN’s administration? Are these balanced things?” he asked, before pointing out that the same proposal had been put forward in 2006, when Mehmet Ali Talat was Turkish Cypriot leader.
“This formula was presented in 2006 during Talat’s presidency, so 20 years have passed since then, and it has been brought up as if it were a new formula after 20 years. This is something I cannot accept.”
‘When I counted, I never reached 19’
He then spoke about Christodoulides’ 19 points for discussion, and said that he had never received a document listing those 19 points, but that instead, a number of suggestions had been voiced to him during their bilateral meetings.
“He only mentioned a few things verbally. I took notes. When I counted, I never reached 19 in terms of suggestions,” he said.
Then asked about the content of those suggestions, he said that it “would not be in accordance with diplomatic protocol” to disclose them, given that Christodoulides has not yet done so publicly, and that instead, “Christodoulides can make a statement regarding the proposals if he wishes, and when he does, I will discuss it”.
On this front, he said that last Saturday’s joint visit to the bicommunal festival in the Larnaca district village of Pyla was among the suggestions Christodoulides had put forward, and that other joint excursions, including meetings with bicommunal technical committees, also featured among Christodoulides’ suggestions.
He was then asked about accusations that he is “running away” from negotiations, and stressed that “I am not running away from the negotiating table at all”.
‘When I sit at the negotiating table, know that we are very close to a solution’
Instead, he said, he wishes for the next steps to be taken on the Cyprus problem to be “results-orientated”.
“I do not hold meetings for the sake of having meetings. I do not negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. I will not hold a five-plus-one meeting just for the sake of holding a five-plus-one meeting. Why will I do it? To find a solution. To produce something,” he said.
A “five-plus-one” meeting is another term used to describe an enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN.
Erhurman stressed that negotiations cannot begin until an agreement is reached between the two sides on their methodology and “progress is achieved on confidence-building measures”, but equally said that a solution to the Cyprus problem may not be as far away as it currently appears.
“When I sit at the negotiating table, know what we are very close to a solution. I cannot say 100 per cent, but it is very likely. Only then will I sit down. I do not negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. I promised I would not keep you waiting at the table for another ten years. I stand by my word,” he said.