It is not possible the Cyprus negotiations to continue from the point they were left in Crans-Montana, as regards federation, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said in reference to a five-party meeting suggested by President Mustafa Akinci.
Speaking to Turkish TCRT channel, Cavusoglu said that President Nicos Anastasiades told him that a two-states solution is the best solution for Cyprus because the Greek Cypriots do not want to share anything with the Turkish Cypriots.
“We said that Crans-Montana [2017] was the last effort for a federal solution. […] We as the Republic of Turkey held our last negotiation for a federation. Other alternatives must be examined now”, he stated adding that it is important to hear the real views of Anastasiades. “Is Anastasiades the one who will determine everything? No, we have opinions as well”, he said.
Referring to Cavusoglu’s statement, Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Hakikat’ reports that Cavusoglu stated that Turkey was ready to cooperate in order to resolve the dispute over energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean. “We want normalization of relations with Greece,” he added.
He also said that while Turkey supports sharing hydrocarbon resources, the Greek Cypriot side does not want to share resources with anyone.
He went on to urge the EU to mediate on the issue and stated that Turkey currently has drilling vessels in the area. “We don’t want anyone questioning the rights on our own continental shelf,” he said. No further energy exploration or drilling ships are necessary in the eastern Mediterranean for now, Cavusoglu said.
Gunes, Hakikat
