Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, is putting forward blatant positions – not for the first time – on the Cyprus “solution” as he and Turkey perceive it.
In an interview with the “Ulusal” TV channel, he said that what he is seeking is recognition of his pseudo-state of the occupied north, a two-state solution and then a form of cooperation that will allow the pseudo-state to join the EU as an independent state entity.
Two States
“Now what we call today the new policy is the two-state policy,” Tatar said, according to the Cyprus News Agency, adding that “if there is to be an agreement, it can be an agreement with the cooperation of two states, meaning that the north is within such a federal republic, which is open for minorities to live and when it is within the EU – because there will be no borders – there will be investments in the whole north and settlement of people.”
Continuing, Ersin Tatar said that “our hypothesis says that if there are two states and these two equal sovereign states make a cooperation agreement, that is, our state will be sovereign, our state will be Turkish. It will have independence, it will have freedom, it will have a constitution, it will have democracy.”
He also said that “of course, there can be consultations on certain issues, this is normal in a very small island. But we have great interests not only in the land of this island, but also in the seas around it, in the Blue Homeland, in our maritime jurisdictions, in our territorial waters, in our continental shelf. There is an economy in it, there is natural gas and oil, they refer to very large resources. At the same time, the ports have commercial and military potential. All of this, in all its forms, has of course increased the importance of Cyprus over time.”
The EU wants Cyprus to be Greek
Asked to comment on the EU’s reaction to efforts to recognize the pseudo-state at the Turkish States Summit in Susa, Azerbaijan, the Turkish Cypriot leader said it was “a very unfortunate statement.”
He challenged the claim that, “in fact, their intention is for all of Cyprus to become a Greek island.” Because, he argued, “on the other hand, the Greek Cypriots, who are ostensibly known as the Republic of Cyprus, appear to represent the whole island. They still have the same mentality with which they said no to the Annan Plan. We said yes to reconciliation, but unfortunately, the embargo and isolation continue against us. And it makes life more difficult economically. There are all kinds of restrictions. We cannot meet with anyone.”
The Turkish Cypriot leader went on to say that with the support of the Republic of Turkey and with the “great courage” of Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, they were invited to the Summit of Turkish States in Susa, Azerbaijan and took our place there. “Because in the end the Turkish states judged us worthy, since we are the state of tdvk (pseudo-state), we are a state and we are an independent Turkish state. And they accepted us into their organization with observer status. We have been walking this path with our own state for 60 years. We are a separate people, with our own religion, our own language, our own destiny, our own struggle, all kinds of traditions, culture and spirituality,” he further claimed.
Elsewhere in his interview, Ersin Tatar argued that “ultimately, their goal is to collapse the people, to force us into a solution, namely a federation.” But what they call a Federation, he said, is first of all zero soldiers and zero guarantees. “Turkey’s guarantee will cease to exist because the Republic of Turkey is not in the European Union and Turkey will have to withdraw its troops, because there is no room for Turkish troops on the territory of the European Union. Turkey will therefore be completely excluded from the Eastern Mediterranean,” he added.
To another question Ersin Tatar replied that the British Bases in Cyprus are of course very important. As he said, at the sovereign bases, “the UK can bring in planes and ships whenever and however it wants. It can conduct all kinds of activities to the Middle East and control it. Therefore, the Turkish Cypriot is the victim here. Because they are still debating whether we have sovereignty or not. Of course, we are just as sovereign as the Greek Cypriots. In Syria, as you know, Russia has influence, as America has influence, but the important thing for me is Turkey’s position.”
