INTERVIEW - Turkish Cypriot leader says ‘new model’ needed to solve Cyprus issue

By Ayhan Simsek

BERLIN (AA) - The Cyprus problem can only be solved by a new approach and a “new model” based on the political realities on the island, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) has said.

“Let’s be creative. Let’s find a solution so that we can all benefit, and we can provide to the security and stability of the Eastern Mediterranean,” Ersin Tatar told Anadolu during his recent visit to Germany.

“If we can achieve this, Cyprus can become a prosperous island, probably more prosperous than Dubai,” he stressed.

Tatar welcomed German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s recent remarks expressing interest in helping find a solution to the decades-old Cyprus problem, but underlined that Berlin must first take steps to end unfair isolations.

“We should never be pessimistic. We should always be optimistic. And if Germany’s (chancellor) is saying that I want to help, I can help, then he is more than welcome,” the TRNC president said.

Tatar underlined that it was “a historic mistake” of Germany and the EU in 2004 to accept the Greek Cypriot administration as a member, although the UN’s Annan plan for a political settlement was rejected by Greek Cypriot voters.

He also criticized the EU’s unfair treatment of the Turkish Cypriots.

Despite promises made by Europeans since 2004 to end the unfair isolations imposed on the Turkish Cypriots, no serious attempt has been made, he said.

“We are under isolations. We are under restrictions. We cannot play football games. We cannot do any sports. We don’t have direct flights. We don’t have direct trade,” Tatar said, underlining that the EU and Germany should take steps to end these restrictions and contribute to a better political climate.

President Tatar complained that the Greek Cypriot administration, after becoming an EU member, had lost interest in a political settlement, and instead started to abuse its membership and veto power to pursue its particular interests.

“Some Europeans are very uncomfortable, are very disturbed about the fact that Greek Cypriots are using, in fact abusing, European Union mechanisms, for their own good, and obviously creating unnecessary problems for Europe,” he said.

- ‘New model’ is only way forward

The Turkish Cypriot leader said a new process for a political settlement in Cyprus could begin if the international community finally recognizes the political realities on the island, acknowledges the sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriots, and puts pressure on the Greek Cypriot administration.

“I invite the international community, including the EU, and now today from Berlin, the German government, and all those in positions of authority. Let’s look at the facts. Let’s look at the reality,” Tatar said.

“The reality is that we have had two states in Cyprus for the past 60 years. All these past UN Security Council resolutions based on bizonal, bicommunal, a federal republic, proved very unsuccessful.”

Tatar emphasized that the “only way forward for a successful resolution of the Cyprus problem … (is) a new model, and this new model is a two-state solution.”

He said this idea put forward by the Turkish Cypriots has been widely discussed in the international arena in recent years, and has started to garner increased support from countries.

Tatar said some European politicians, in their private discussions, told him that they also think that “a two-state solution might be the only way out.”

At the current stage, the resumption of talks for a political settlement could only be possible if the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriots would be reacknowledged beforehand, he said.

He also underlined that the continuation of Türkiye’s guarantorship also remains essential for Turkish Cypriots.

Tatar also warned that the rise of the far-right in the Greek Cypriot administration endangers the prospects of a political settlement.

“As elsewhere in Europe, the tendency of nationalism, radicalism is going up,” he said referring to the growing support for the ultranationalist National Popular Front (ELAM).

The president said ELAM and its supporters want to turn Cyprus into a Greek island, where Turkish Cypriots would not even have minority rights.

“Basically, I think that one cannot reach a settlement even on a federal basis, even if they were to soften down a bit, because of these tendencies of increased radicalism,” he said.

- Cyprus issue

The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

The island has been divided since the early 1960s when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the longstanding dispute.​​​​​​​