Turkish Cypriot leader Erhürman: talks must aim at a solution, not just more meetings

Northern Cyprus President Tufan Erhürman, speaking as a guest of Ali Kişmir on Özgür Gazete Web TV, said the Turkish Cypriot side wants negotiations that produce a solution rather than talks for their own sake. He said they were in full consultation with Ankara. Erhürman stressed that they were focusing on the seven-point proposals that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres put forward when he visited the island.

Erhürman said it was important to him that the UN proposals included, for the first time, EU citizenship and sports for children born of mixed marriages, adding that this could not be a matter of trade-offs. He said a set of 19 points reportedly relayed orally by Greek Cypriot leader Hristodulidis to him and Guterres in New York had never been put in writing, and that he could not reach that number. He also drew attention to the elections on 6 December, expressing hope for a democratic vote.

Erhürman said he had completed one year in office and divided his duties into three areas: domestic issues, the Cyprus problem, and efforts to bring the Turkish Cypriot people to the world. He also said that expecting solutions within two and a half months on long-standing issues such as the Maraş and Mağusa ports was clearly unrealistic.