Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said that a framework must be determined for them to sit at an official negotiations table with South Cyprus. He also stated that the acceptance of sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot people is a pre-condition for a return to the negotiations table.
Tatar who held contacts in London, the capital of the United Kingdom spoke to Anatolian Agency.
Tatar put a question forward to the Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides, “What is your approach towards the Turkish Cypriots, will you accept our sovereign equality or not? If not, then there is no meaning of sitting at an official negotiation table.”
Tatar emphasized that “No one can insist on the TRNC accepting any kind of an agreement”.
“We do not believe that Christodoulides will have anything different to say”
Responding to a question of whether dynamism in Cyprus is expected following the election of Christodoulides, Tatar said that a framework needs to be drawn to sit at a negotiating table and that sovereign equality and equal international status must be recognized for a common ground to be affirmed.
Tatar reminded that Nikos Christodoulides was elected as South Cyprus leader with the support of the far-right extremists. He said “no” to the Annan Plan in the past and played a major role in the collapse of the negotiating table at the conference in Crans-Montana, Tatar noted.
