Tatar accepts informal meeting offer with Greek Cypriot leader

NICOSIA

Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar has announced that he agreed to an informal meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader upon the proposal of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

While in New York for the 79th U.N. General Assembly last week, Tatar held talks with Guterres and the latter proposed a tripartite informal meeting.

Speaking to reporters upon his return to Nicosia late on Sept. 29, the Turkish Cypriot leader confirmed his acceptance of Guterres' proposal, adding that such a meeting could pave the way for a consultative session in a 4+1 format, involving Turkish Cyprus, Türkiye, Greek Cyprus and Greece to deliberate on the future contours of the island.

Tatar underscored that the Turkish Cypriot side would not engage in formal negotiations unless its “sovereign equality and equal international status were recognized.”

Turkish Cyprus, only recognized by Türkiye, backed the two-state solution, while the Greek Cypriot authorities pressured for a solution involving the reunification of the island. Türkiye also fully supports the two-state solution on the island.

During his U.N. address, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides expressed his country’s readiness to immediately restart reunification negotiations.

At the brief at the airport, Tatar said he conveyed to Guterres that the idea of a federation has been exhausted and will no longer be considered, reiterating that, despite these fundamental differences, the Turkish Cypriot side will not sever communication channels.

Tatar also emphasized that he raised the issue of embargoes against the Turkish Cypriot community.

“I responded positively to U.N. Secretary-General Guterres' offer to meet with the Greek Cypriot leader at an informal meeting. In essence, I accepted the offer for a non-official gathering, which falls outside the framework of formal Cyprus negotiations," he stated.

The island 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. 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 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was founded in 1983.