The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) rejected the Greek Cypriot administration's so-called confidence-building measures as it attempts to extend Greek Cypriot authority on the island.
In a statement, the Presidency of the TRNC said that following a weekly evaluation and coordination meeting on May 20, Menelaos Menelaou, the Greek Cypriot negotiator for the Cyprus problem, gave a letter from Greek Cypriot administration leader Nikos Anastasiadis to M. Ergün Olgun, the TRNC president's special representative, to be forwarded to TRNC President Ersin Tatar.
The statement said the so-called confidence-building measure (CBM) proposals referred to in the letter are nothing but an attempt to create an impression and to spread the authority of the Greek Cypriot side to the entire island.
"Therefore, these so-called CBM proposals were rejected in accordance with our previous statements."
Emphasizing that the steps to build trust between the two sides can only be discussed on the basis of new, creative and realistic proposals that will provide equal benefits based on the vested rights of the two sides, defined as "sovereign equality and equal status," it stated that the Greek Cypriot side did not do this.
The statement went on to say that by using the status the Greek Cypriot side is abusing with the claim of being the sole ruler of Cyprus, it continues to prevent the Turkish Cypriots from accessing the international community in all areas and on the other hand tries to convince the relevant circles that it is trying to build trust, adding that "this situation is simply insincerity."
While Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration support a federation on Cyprus, Turkey and the TRNC insist on a two-state solution that reflects the realities on the island.
Cyprus has been mired for decades in a dispute between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement. Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983. It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom.
