Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has told UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin that a two-state solution should be the end point of any settlement on the Cyprus problem.
In Nicosia, President Nikos Christodoulides reminded that the Secretary-General operates within the framework set by UN decisions and resolutions, which reject a two-state solution.
The President was briefed via messages from Holguin on what had been discussed at the meeting.
Holguin had come to the region aiming to secure a first agreement from all the parties involved for a new informal meeting in 5+1 format: Christodoulides, Erhürman and the three guarantor powers, plus the UN. The Secretary-General’s wish for a meeting aimed at substantive progress, and Holguin’s own determination to achieve it, were sufficiently clear during her contacts in Nicosia.
Ankara meeting
In Ankara, Fidan made clear to Holguin that for Turkey there is no other topic of discussion beyond a two-state solution, setting out both Ankara’s goal and the limits of any negotiating room available to the Turkish Cypriot leadership.
According to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources, cited by CNA, Fidan repeated Ankara’s position in favour of a two-state solution at the meeting with Holguin. The meeting also reviewed the latest developments on the Cyprus problem and the contacts Holguin had held the previous week with the two Cyprus leaders.
Fidan said Turkey supports the efforts of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres but repeated that the “most realistic solution” to the Cyprus problem is the coexistence of two states on the island.
He said approaches that fail to recognise what Turkey calls the “sovereign equality” and “equal international status” of Turkish Cypriots would not lead to a result, adding that any process should be based on “realities on the ground.”
Nicosia’s first response
Nicosia’s first reaction came from President Christodoulides himself. He said he did not underestimate or play down Fidan’s statements, nor the reasons they may have been made.
“I have exchanged several messages with the personal envoy and I have been briefed on what was discussed at the meeting with Mr Fidan, which I will not make public, you understand why,” he said.
“Beyond that, regarding Mr Fidan’s statements, I want to say something that is clear, that is plain, and that was also the position the Secretary-General set out to the Turkish President, and then subsequently in Brussels when we met, and also with the heads of European Union institutions: that the Secretary-General of the United Nations, even more so today, at a time when the UN Charter is being questioned, when the system created after 1945 with the United Nations is being questioned, when international law is being questioned, does not undertake any initiative that goes beyond the framework of the UN Charter,” he added.
“Of course I do not underestimate or play down Mr Fidan’s statements, or the reasons they may have been made. What he said publicly matters, I repeat, I do not underestimate it, I do not play it down,” he said.
“Beyond that,” he continued, “the United Nations initiative is moving in a specific direction, set by the Secretary-General himself, and we continue this effort.” He repeated that “at the end of the day, we will all be judged by our positions and by the final outcome.”
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