The Turkish Cypriot side is seeking a trilateral meeting without addressing the core issue of how to restart dialogue, with Ersin Tatar aiming for an open agenda to put forward his demands, sources say.
Following Wednesday evening’s announcement of an agreement for an informal meeting in New York on October 15, the intentions of both sides have begun to emerge.
President Nikos Christodoulides and Ersin Tatar have directly or indirectly outlined their objectives before sitting at the same table with the UN Secretary-General.
In announcing the New York dinner, Tatar’s office was keen to convey that “the informal dinner will have no agenda and the two leaders will exchange views in a social environment“.
Almost simultaneously, Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu, speaking from New York, stated that “federation will not be discussed” and that “their participation in this meeting should in no way be considered as negotiation for federation”.
These positions from the Turkish Cypriot side indicate their goals, which are unrelated to the primary objective of the trilateral meeting: seeking ways to restart dialogue on the Cyprus issue.
President Christodoulides, however, clarified yesterday that the agenda for the October 15 trilateral meeting is very specific and concerns the prospects of resuming talks.
He signalled to both the United Nations and the Turkish Cypriot side that he is not going to New York to discuss the agenda Tatar is attempting to push.
Arriving at the Cyprus Forum 2024 in Nicosia, President Christodoulides responded to journalists, saying the trilateral meeting does not have an open agenda: “There is nothing that is open-ended. The discussion is taking place for one purpose only: to see if there are prospects for resuming talks, and I consider the Secretary-General’s initiative particularly important”.
He added that this was something they had been seeking for some time. “From there on, we focus on achieving a result, which for us has one goal: the resumption of talks based on the agreed framework and from where we left off at Crans-Montana”, he said.
Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos, in statements to CyBC, emphasised that the New York dinner represents the next reference point on the Cyprus issue after the General Assembly, which cannot be ignored following a long period of inactivity.
However, the Minister added that the existence of movement does not necessarily mean that the main objective of resuming talks will be achieved, which, as he said, “does not depend only on our side”.
He also noted that there is no alternative to pursuing dialogue, as this is the only way to reach a resolution of the Cyprus issue.
He also stated that anything outside the UN framework will not be accepted, and if the rhetoric and argumentation of the other side is simply heard at the dinner, the outcome will not be positive.
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