The appointment of Johannes Hahn as EU Special Representative is an internal EU matter, has no effect on the Turkish Cypriot side and “there will be no contact or conversation in the context of this appointment,” Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said in a written statement.

In his statement, the Turkish Cypriot leader refers to the long-standing “obsessive” insistence of Cypriot President Nicos Christodoulides on the appointment of a Special Representative by the EU, which was made without the approval of the Turkish Cypriot side “and against our will“, arguing that “such a step based on the demands of only one of the sides has no validity for us.”

Tatar claims that President Christodoulides is presenting this appointment “to his people as a personal victory and trying to equate Khan with the UN Secretary General‘s Personal Envoy to the UN“, which he claims is “fiction. This approach is not only unrealistic, but also disrespectful to the work being done within the UN.“

He also argues that this internal EU regulation “serves the political objectives of the Greek Cypriot side and is a step away from impartiality. The sovereign will of the Turkish Cypriot people has been completely ignored in this process. Therefore, this appointment made to help the Greek Cypriot position does not create any consequence or obligation for us.“

Tatar added that the process for the 6 initiatives agreed in Geneva continues under the auspices of the UN Secretary General and under the responsibility of his Personal Envoy, Maria Angela Olegin. “Any initiative taken outside of this process based on equal consensus between the parties will harm cooperation efforts. The EU is not part of this process. It cannot be part of any equation on the Cyprus problem without our approval.“

“Therefore, I state clearly: This appointment is an internal EU matter. There will be no contact or conversation in the context of this appointment.“

The Turkish Cypriot “people”, Tatar said, are resolutely defending a vision of a solution shaped on the basis of sovereign equality and equal international status. “It will not accept any approach that is exclusive, unilateral and based on fait accompli,” Tatar concluded.

This morning Johannes Hahn met with President Christodoulides and had expressed his intention to meet with Ersin Tatar as well.