Prime Minister and presidential candidate spoke to Turkish Cypriot daily ‘Kibris’ regarding the Cyprus problem.
Journalist Hasan Hasan Hastürer asked Tatar about his interview with the UK ‘Sunday Express’. The prime minister said:
“Our attitude as the UBP on the ground is clear. My views cannot be contrary to the views of my party. As president of the UBP, prime minister and candidate for the presidency of a democracy, my red lines on these issues are very clear. If there is a solution based on two states, border adjustments can be made provided there is no mass movement. So there is no need to discuss percentages. The Greek Cypriot side sees Morphou/Guzelyurt as an area that will eventually be given back. They are making a very big mistake. Morphou can never be returned and never will be. If I am elected president of the democracy, I will not even discuss returning Morphou”.
Tatar said that he wanted to know about the map presented by the Turkish Cypriot side at the Cyprus Conference in Crans-Montana [2017]. “The answer I got was: ‘I had important talks in North Cyprus and Ankara’. So far I have not met anyone who has seen the map submitted by the Turkish Cypriot side ...”.
Asked to clarify his red lines, Tatar responded that he never said nor would he say that he would not talk, adding that the solution would be political equality and two sovereign states, side by side.
Asked whether he would continue from the point where the negotiations in Berlin were left off, Tatar was adamant: “We will not continue from the point where we arrived in Berlin. I sincerely believe that the Guterres text makes us lose a lot. Taking away the unilateral right to intervene under Turkey’s guarantees is a blow to the spirit of the guarantees and we will never accept this”.
Referring to the issue of hydrocarbons, Tatar said:
“I support the proposal for a joint committee presented by President Akinci on the issue of hydrocarbons. In the process, we will continue to insist on setting up a joint committee. In essence, the issue of hydrocarbons is like a road map. With the Joint Committee we will be able to see if the Greek Cypriots want to co-manage and share the wealth. If no agreement is reached, we will continue to actively defend our rights with Turkey. The period when the Greek Cypriots were acting unilaterally and we were merely complaining is over”, said Tatar.
Kibris
