Erhurman defends four points for negotiations to restart ahead of Holguin’s arrival

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Sunday defended the four stipulations which he says must be met for negotiations on the Cyprus problem to recommence in earnest, with United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin set to arrive on the island on Monday.

Those four points, sometimes referred to as “preconditions” – a term Erhurman resents – foresee that the Greek Cypriot side accept political equality, time-limit negotiations, and preserve all past agreements, and that the UN guarantee that embargoes placed on the Turkish Cypriots be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side leaves the negotiating table again.

On Sunday, he said that “my experience regarding the intractability of the Cyprus problem is very clear to me”, and stressed that “throughout my political life, I have seen, thought, and explained that the biggest obstacle to a solution is the Greek Cypriot leadership’s refusal to accept political equality”.

“That is why the first of the four-point methodology proposal I put on the table is political equality. I said I would not go to the negotiating table without an agreement on the methodology, yes. I said this both before and after the election,” he said.

The reason for this, he said, is that “after so much disappointment, if negotiations begin, I do not want them to end in disappointment”.

“I want negotiations for the sake of a solution, not negotiations for the sake of negotiations. I know that if there is no political equality, there will be no solution,” he said.

On this matter, he said that “there is nothing new” regarding his stance, before stating that “a very large segment of my people wants a solution, and so do I”.

“A very large segment of my people does not see a ‘deal’ without political equality as a solution, and neither do I. Nothing has changed in this regard, and nothing will change,” he said.

Holguin will meet both Erhurman and President Nikos Christodoulides on Tuesday, before the three will hold a trilateral meeting on Wednesday.

Erhurman said on Monday that he hopes Holguin’s forthcoming visit to the island will “yield concrete results aimed at creating the atmosphere for a solution”, and stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side is “ready for the meeting”.

“In line with our results-oriented approach, our request is that the technical-level work be accelerated before that meeting and that Holguin’s visit yield concrete results aimed at creating the atmosphere for a solution,” he said.

It is expected that a fresh enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN, will take place in the weeks that follow Holguin’s visit.

Following the previous tripartite meeting, the sides released a joint meeting declaring that “the real aim is the solution of the Cyprus problem with political equality as described by the United Nations security council resolutions”.

The statement added that the meeting had included a “stocktaking discussion on previously agreed trust building initiatives”, as well as a discussion on new ideas.

“They agreed to concentrate on achieving new agreements as soon as possible, especially on the issue of the opening of new crossing points, the halloumi issue, and the construction of pipelines from the Mia Milia water treatment plant,” it said.

Christodoulides said after that meeting that it had been held in a “very good atmosphere”.