Newsroom
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has rejected a proposal to place fenced-off Varosha under United Nations administration in exchange for opening Famagusta port to direct trade under European Union supervision, saying the package does not offer a balanced deal.
Speaking in an interview broadcast on Genz last night, Erhurman confirmed for the first time that President Nikos Christodoulides had put the proposal to him.
For displaced Varosha residents, the fenced-off area remains central to hopes of returning home. But Erhurman’s objection focused on what Turkish Cypriots would receive in exchange: He argued that opening the port under EU supervision would not resolve the restrictions on direct trade with the bloc.
“The port of Famagusta is open. The port of Famagusta is not closed,” he said. “The problem with our ports is that we cannot conduct direct trade with the European Union.”
According to Erhurman, he asked Christodoulides whether the EU’s Direct Trade Regulation would come into force under the proposal and was told it would not.
“Why is this being exchanged for handing Varosha over to UN administration? Are these balanced things?” he asked.
He also dismissed the package as a revival of a proposal rejected by then-Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat in 2006.
“Twenty years have passed. It is coming back as a new formula after 20 years,” he said. “This is not something I can accept.”
No written 19-point proposal
Erhurman also questioned references to Christodoulides’ 19-point proposal, saying he had received no written document.
“He only mentioned a few things verbally. I took notes. When I counted them, I never got to 19 sentences,” he said.
He declined to disclose the suggestions, saying that would breach diplomatic protocol, but added that Christodoulides could make them public if he wished.
“When he does, I’ll discuss them,” Erhurman said.
He noted that he had already accepted some suggestions, including the joint visit to Pyla and meetings of the technical committees on youth, cultural heritage and civil society.
Conditions for returning to talks
Explaining why a proposed three-way meeting in New York did not take place, Erhurman said the request had come from Christodoulides rather than UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
He said he had made his participation conditional on either a prospect of agreement on the secretary-general’s seven confidence-building measures or Greek Cypriot acceptance of a rotating presidency without linking it to security and guarantees. Neither condition was met, he said.
“Are we having a meeting to say, ‘I accept the rotating presidency in exchange for security and guarantees,’ or is it just an opportunity for a photo?” he asked.
Erhurman said he would not return to negotiations without agreement on how the process would work and substantial progress on confidence-building measures.
At the same time, he stressed the importance of continuing dialogue with Christodoulides, the EU, the UN and the diplomatic community, saying the purpose was to deliver a result on the Cyprus problem.
Responding to criticism that he was avoiding negotiations, he said meetings mattered for what they achieved.
“I am not leaving the negotiating table at all,” he said.
Property cases and citizenship
On the Republic of Cyprus’ legal proceedings against individuals accused of unlawfully using Greek Cypriot properties in the north, Erhurman accused the authorities of using the law for political purposes. He pointed to the Immovable Property Commission operating in the occupied areas.
He also discussed the difficulties faced by children of mixed marriages in obtaining Republic of Cyprus identity documents. He said the issue had featured in UN and EU human rights reports and was included in Guterres’ seven confidence-building measures.
A related application to the European Court of Human Rights was now being examined, he added.
On relations with Ankara, Erhurman reiterated that he was in full consultation with the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his preferred four-point methodology for pursuing a settlement.
