Northern Cyprus FM Ertugruloglu: Two-state reality must be accepted for a Cyprus settlement

Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertugruloglu said on a programme on BRT that no results can be achieved in negotiations on Cyprus unless the existing UN parameters and Security Council resolutions change. He said a settlement requires accepting the equal sovereignty of two states.

Ertugruloglu said talks held without equal status for the Turkish Cypriot side would not benefit the Turkish Cypriot people or the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). He argued that contacts under confidence-building measures have strengthened the status quo, and criticised UN Security Council Resolution 186 and subsequent resolutions. He said a new Security Council resolution is needed to equalise the status of the two sides.

Ertugruloglu described Turkey as the sole guarantor of the Turkish Cypriot side, and said the United Kingdom and Greece had not fulfilled their guarantor responsibilities. He said the TRNC's recognition does not depend on the acceptance of other countries, and that relations based on cooperation between two states could be established.