Nothing is being “cooked up” as regards restarting the Cyprus negotiations, Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Kudret Özersay has said. The UN General-Secretary has some serious questions as regards the Cyprus problem, he added.
Özersay also said that he does not want to create expectations and unnecessary hopes for the Cyprus negotiations: “Do not have great expectations and do not believe that a magic wand will lead us to the solution of the Cyprus problem”, he warned.
The foreign minister, who was speaking in a BRT television programme, also said that the UNSG will not hurl himself into a process if there is no political will.
Özersay also stated that he does not agree with the view that a new negotiations process will be created according to the results of the informal meetings between the guarantor countries; adding that he had received the necessary information from the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and conveyed it to President Mustafa Akinci.
Additionally, he said that the Turkish Cypriot side, thinking that the negotiations had come to an end at Crans-Montana, had made a step regarding the map; however the Greek Cypriot side had tried to continue the negotiations with the issues of guarantees and political equality of the Turkish Cypriots. “Offering political equality in exchange for [removal of] guarantees is not acceptable”, he stated.
Özersay also said that it is not the name but the content of the solution that is important, adding that it is not important if it is called federation or co-federation, as long as is accepted by both peoples of the island.
Evaluating his meetings in New York, Özersay said that along with the meetings he held with UN officials he also met with the Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan with whom they discussed not only the Cyprus problem but also economic issues. The foreign minister also said that he also held meetings with the Turkish Minister of Defence and the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu (pictured left).
Özersay said that he had informed the Council of Ministers about his contacts in New York adding that the meetings he held with the UN officials were not focused only on the Cyprus problem but covered other subjects as well. He also said that these meetings were very beneficial for the Turkish Cypriots.
The foreign minister said that he had unofficial meetings with the chairman of DYSI Averof Neofytou and with the Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavrogiannis, adding that these meetings were useful.
BRT
