Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Ersin Tatar asked the United Kingdom's top diplomat to invite him to London along with Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiadis for fresh talks as he believes that there is no common ground between the parties for new negotiations, Greek Cypriot media reported.
In an interview with Filelefheros newspaper, Tatar said that he told United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres new talks could not be started, but he was ready for an unofficial dialogue.
Tatar added that he advised Stephen Lillie, the U.K. high commissioner to the Greek Cypriot administration, to invite him and Anastasiades to London for dialogue in a different environment where the two parties can talk and discuss various issues.
“There may not be common ground today, but it may arise in the coming years. We must continue the dialogue for a better Cyprus. I have no problem with dialogue,” he said.
Tatar noted that there have been two separate states in Cyprus for 60 years in some manner, adding that the Greek Cypriots and the international community must accept this fact.
“If the Greek Cypriots do not object the recognition of the sovereign equality of the Turkish Cypriots in the U.N. Security Council, all aspects of the Cyprus problem can be negotiated,” he said.
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support a federation on Cyprus, Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) insist on a two-state solution that reflects the realities on the island.
The island of Cyprus has been mired in a decadeslong struggle between the Turkish and Greek Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the United Nations to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
The island has been divided since 1964 when ethnic attacks forced the Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power. The TRNC was founded in 1983.
The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the European Union in 2004, despite most Greek Cypriots rejecting a U.N. settlement plan in a referendum that year, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the European Union.
