The leader of the Turkish Cypriot community, Ersin Tatar, reiterated his demand for recognition of sovereign equality and equal international status ahead of the informal trilateral dinner with the President of the Republic of Cyprus, Nicos Christodoulides, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on October 15 in New York.

In new statements to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency, he reiterated, among other things, that: “Our terms for negotiations with the Greek Cypriots are clear. When sovereignty (our sovereignty demand) is satisfied, then the negotiation process can begin. Our sovereign equality must be recorded.”

Ersin Tatar said that at the dinner he would explain to his interlocutors that direct flights and trade to the self-proclaimed “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” must begin, and that he said the “outdated embargoes, isolations and obstacles that have been unjustly imposed on trade, sports, music and inter-state negotiations must be lifted in order to reaffirm our sovereignty.”

Ersin Tatar also said that no formal negotiations will be launched until the Turkish Cypriots’ acquired rights are accepted and clear and unambiguous conditions are fulfilled. He said he would not step back from the two-state policy of sovereign equality and equal international status. “This dinner is an opportunity to explain our positions,” Ersin Tatar concluded.