Turkey’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said there is still no common ground between the two sides for a solution to the Cyprus problem, following a trilateral meeting between UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President Nikos Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman.
In a statement issued by spokesperson Oncu Keceli, the ministry said it valued the efforts made by Guterres on the Cyprus problem.
The ministry said that in a period when there is “not yet common ground for a solution” between the two sides, emphasis should be placed on progress on specific areas of cooperation, within the framework of the process the UN Secretary-General launched in 2025. Such progress, Turkey said, can help build trust between the two communities.
The ministry also criticised the Greek Cypriot side, saying no concrete prospect for a settlement can exist unless what it called the Greek Cypriot side’s “intransigent stance” changes, and unless actions it claims negatively affect the region’s security come to an end.
The ministry again rejected the solution models tested in previous decades, saying they have been “exhausted” and now belong to the past. The statement repeated Ankara’s standing position that a “fair, comprehensive and viable solution” can only be achieved on the basis of the realities on the island, and on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status for Turkish Cypriots.
“As motherland and guarantor power, we reiterate that the solution to the Cyprus problem can be achieved on the basis of sovereign equality and the equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people,” the Turkish statement said.
Ankara concluded by affirming that its support for the self-proclaimed “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”) and Turkish Cypriots remains complete.
(With information from Cyprus News Association)
