The international press published their reactions to Ersin Tatar’s winning the presidency of North Cyprus.
The National Unity Party candidate backed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, won the second round of the elections by a very small margin of around three percent on Sunday.
French news agency AFP wrote that it was surprised by the election result, which Tatar, who it described as a right-wing nationalist, won by a small margin.
AFP wrote that the fact that Tatar had Turkey’s backing because he had promoted a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem, had created controversy
Reuters wrote that the election result will have an effect on the Cyprus talks, and impact the problems between Turkey and Greece and energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
Reuters emphasised that Tatar’s rival, former President Mustafa Akıncı, had strained relations with Ankara and that Akıncı was in favour of unification on the island.
Fiona Mullen, Director of Cyprus-based consulting firm Sapienta Economics told the ‘Financial Times’, that the election of Tatar would not mean the end of the attempts to solve the Cyprus problem.
“Solving this problem is in the interests of Turkey because it upsets relations with the EU,” Mullen said, adding that a complete solution to the problem was “less likely” under Tatar’s leadership. There could still be a “halfway deal” to resolve specific issues and reduce tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, she argued. “I suspect that what we might be looking at is getting a deal on gas first,” said Mullen.
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