Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay, who continues his contacts in New York, has said that the Cyprus problem cannot be solved by a simple paper exercise. Ozersay who met with the UN Undersecretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo on Monday said on social media:
“We have started our meetings as of this morning in the United Nations headquarters with a meeting with the UN Undersecretary General and head of the Department of Political Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo”.
Meanwhile, in an interview with BRT, Ozersay said: “The Cyprus problem should not come down to an exercise for drafting terms of reference. We can’t move forward if we don’t focus on the root causes of the Cyprus problem and change the basic conditions which prevent the problem from being solved. We will just not make any headway and lose time in the process”.
Saying that listing and compiling the positions of the two sides into a single document will not produce a solution but would only be recording existing divergences, Ozersay added: “It is time the UN and international actors understand that the Cyprus problem cannot be solved through such exercises. This is what we have been conveying to our interlocutors. More importantly we are telling them that starting a new process without questioning the reasons behind the failure of the last process will only prepare the ground for a new failure“.
The foreign minister went on to say that the reason for the failure of the last round of talks in 2017 was the Greek Cypriot side’s reluctance to share power and wealth with the Turkish Cypriots, adding: “It’s been two years since that process. Has anything changed in the Greek Cypriot side’s mentality? Are they [Greek Cypriots] ready to share with us? The answer unfortunately is no. That is why the belief that the Cyprus problem can be solved through a simple paper exercise should be abandoned as soon as possible”. He said that discussions with the Greek Cypriot side should focus on areas where there can be cooperation between the two communities regardless of whether or not they recognise each other.
BRT
