N. Cyprus To Be Ready To Negotiate If Int'l Status, Sovereign Equality Accepted- President

N. Cyprus to Be Ready to Negotiate If Int'l Status, Sovereign Equality Accepted- President

Northern Cyprus is prepared to formally negotiate the Cyprus issue when its sovereign equality and equal international status are recognized, and believes that the UN chief should propose that to the United Nations Security Council, Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar told Sputnik

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th September, 2021) Northern Cyprus is prepared to formally negotiate the Cyprus issue when its sovereign equality and equal international status are recognized, and believes that the UN chief should propose that to the United Nations Security Council, Turkish Cypriot President Ersin Tatar told Sputnik.

"All we want is sovereign equality and equal international status. This is not very much. The secretary-general should propose this to the UN Security Council. They should acknowledge, they should reaffirm our sovereignty because we are sovereign," Tatar said. "Therefore, we are claiming our sovereign equality. I am not saying that tomorrow they should recognize my state, that is to come later in time. But now all I am asking is for my sovereign equality and equal international status to be acknowledged. If these are acknowledged, if these are accepted, reaffirmed, then we will sit at the negotiating table formally to discuss a comprehensive settlement for Cyprus problem."

Tatar stressed that they insist that such a settlement should be based on two cooperating independent states living side by side.

"We can cooperate on everything," he said.

Tatar added say that Norther Cyprus and the Republic of Cyprus had been living as two separate states for over half a century and it was now impossible for them to merge.

"It is impossible to reunite. It is impossible for the two peoples to merge because we have been separated the last 60 years," he said. "We don't know them, they don't know us. We speak Turkish, they speak Greek. We are Muslims, they are Christians. Different culture, everything is different. How can you reunite? It's impossible. The reality on the island is that we have two different states, we should reconcile and the two states should cooperate."

Tatar stressed that the Cyprus problem was both long-standing and complex, as it involved not only Turkish Cypriot people but also the regional stability.

"Because the East Mediterranean is even more important than before because we have the English, we have the Americans, we have the Russians, they're all in a way positioning themselves with the resources in the eastern Mediterranean," he noted.

Cyprus, populated by Greek and Turkish Cypriots, has been a stumbling block for Turkey and Greece for almost half a century. The island was de facto divided in 1974, when Turkey deployed armed forces to Cyprus after an attempt to unify Cyprus with Greece. In 1983, the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was formed, recognized solely by Turkey.

Currently, the negotiations between Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom under the guidance of the United Nations are periodically held to decide whether Cyprus will be a bizonal, bicommunal federation or a two-state island.