Ersin Tatar explains why Cyprus meeting resulted in failure

The informal broad-format meeting on Cyprus, mediated by Türkiye and the UN, has concluded in New York.

Report informs that the meeting was held at the UN headquarters. It was attended by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, and President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar.

The meeting focused more on exploring cooperation opportunities between the parties rather than direct political negotiations. Within this framework, issues such as opening new crossing points, mine clearance, environment and climate change, energy projects, and the establishment of technical committees related to youth were discussed.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told journalists after the meeting that the discussions were constructive. He noted that the leaders reviewed the implementation of six confidence-building measures agreed upon at the informal meeting on Cyprus in a broader format held in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2024, and emphasized that four of them have already been implemented.

In his statement to Report after the meeting, Ersin Tatar, contrary to what the UN Secretary-General said, stated that the discussions were not constructive. He noted that the parties could not reach a common ground on the issue of opening new crossings, which was one of the main topics of discussion:

"Today, cooperation between the parties, work that could be done for the benefit of our peoples, environment, and energy issues, were discussed. The opening of four new crossing points was on the agenda. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The Greek side insisted that crossing points should only be established through the buffer zone. But we stated that building roads in the buffer zone is not right. Because this could lead to attempts to show those areas as Greek territory in the future. This is risky both from military and security perspectives. We said that if there is a lack of roads on the Turkish side (approximately 5 km), we can build this road. This would be the most acceptable and secure solution. But unfortunately, the other side did not agree and demanded crossings only through the buffer zone. For this reason, no agreement was reached and the opening of four crossing points was not possible."

Another informal meeting in the same format is planned to be held by the end of 2025.