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ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s president on Thursday defended “the coexistence of two states” on Cyprus, as he hosted the new leader of the island’s Ankara-backed self-proclaimed republic who had backed reunification.
In October, the breakaway territory of northern Cyprus — recognized by only Turkiye — voted overwhelmingly for former prime minister Tufan Erhurman as the next president, instead of outgoing leader Ersin Tatar, who had been Ankara’s pick.
Erhurman, who advocates reunification of the Mediterranean island that has been split since 1974, had campaigned for the resumption of negotiations with the Greek Cypriots.
But after hosting Erhurman on his first official visit, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said: “We believe that the most realistic solution to the Cyprus issue lies in the coexistence of two states on the island.”
“We continue to hold the view that a solution in which the two peoples on the island can live side by side in peace, prosperity, and security is possible, and we will continue our sincere efforts in this direction,” Erdogan told a press conference in Ankara.
For his part, Erhurman said Turkish Cypriot people were one of the two equal founding partners of Cyprus.
“This status of my people is not open to discussion, negotiation, or compromise,” he said.
But he added if there is a negotiation table, “we will be there.”
“And if such a table has not yet been set, we will be at the table of dialogue that seeks to produce cooperation and solutions aimed at facilitating the daily lives of the two peoples on the island, building mutual trust, and contributing-within the framework of the win-win principle-to a future settlement,” he said.
The last major round of peace talks to negotiate a settlement to the island’s divided status collapsed in Switzerland in 2017.
The leaders of both sides met in July at the UN headquarters in New York for talks that were hailed as “constructive” by UN chief Antonio Guterres.