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Turkish Cypriot leader sees no point in meeting with UN chief, Cypriot president

According to Ersin Tatar, "the formal negotiation process can only start only if the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot side is reaffirmed"

NICOSIA, September 22. /TASS/. Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar considers holding a trilateral meeting with the Greek Cypriot leader, President of the Republic of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres meaningless, he said in an interview with TASS.

"We do not think that meetings for the sake of meetings are necessary," said Tatar, the president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC, not recognized by any state in the world except for Turkey), in response to a question about the possibility of a joint trilateral meeting with Christodoulides and Guterres in New York within the framework of efforts to resolve the divided island issue.

According to Tatar, "the formal negotiation process can only start only if the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriot side is reaffirmed."

The meeting was initiated by Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who believes it could take place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Currently, both Tatar and Christodoulides are in New York, where they were scheduled to hold separate talks with the UN Secretary-General. The question of whether their trilateral meeting will take place has been actively discussed in recent days.

"We are not talking about the resumption of talks. We are talking about a new and formal negotiation process based on sovereign equality and equal international status of both sides," Tatar stated. "We are not asking for something new. We are asking for the re-affirmation of our inherent rights <...>," the Turkish Cypriot leader continued. According to him, "TRNC, with its own fully functioning, democratically-elected Government, Parliament, and Judiciary, possesses all the attributes of a modern State." "The international community’s persistent denial to recognize these factual realities on the ground is unacceptable and unsustainable," he added.

Cyprus has been divided along national lines since Turkey's armed invasion in 1974, triggered by a coup d'etat by pro-annexation activists. The military hostilities brought approximately 37% of Cyprus under Turkish control. The TRNC was formed in 1983 on the island. The Republic is recognized in the international community only by Ankara. The southern part of the island remained under the control of the Republic of Cyprus, populated predominantly by Greek Cypriots. Repeated attempts by the parties to resolve the problem have so far failed.

Negotiations between the Greek and Turkish communities on the reunification of Cyprus were mediated by the UN. They were suspended after another round held in the Swiss city of Crans-Montana in 2017 failed to yield results.

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