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Tufan Erhurman, leader of the Republican Turkish Party (RTP) and candidate for Turkish Cypriot leader, has warned that pursuing a ''two-state'' solution on the island would strip Turkish Cypriots of their rights and weaken their international standing.
Speaking in a televised interview Tuesday, Erhurman pushed back against incumbent Ersin Tatar’s push for “sovereign equality,” arguing that such equality only exists at the negotiating table. “As soon as we get up from the table, on one side you have the president of a recognized EU and UN member state, and on the other, the president of an unrecognized state,” he said. “Equality in the international system is lost.”
Erhurman warned that a two-state solution would jeopardize vital interests, including rights to natural gas resources. “If hydrocarbons are in the south, how will you continue to claim rights if there are two separate states?” he asked. Instead, he said, a model of two constituent states under a federal system would ensure Turkish Cypriots share in decision-making for the whole island.
Outlining his party’s proposal, Erhurman said formal negotiations should restart on the basis of United Nations principles: political equality, timetables, respect for past convergences, and guarantees that Turkish Cypriots would not be left in limbo if talks collapse. He stressed that any negotiation would naturally take place in consultation with Turkey, as it has under every previous leader.
The RTP leader criticized Tatar’s record, saying his five-year term had been “wasted” and that the community had “gone backwards.” He also accused him of ignoring the plight of children from mixed marriages, who are denied Republic of Cyprus citizenship and, by extension, EU rights.
Erhurman argued that the Turkish Cypriot leader’s role is not only about the Cyprus dispute but also about the economy, including negotiating with the EU to ease restrictions on trade across the Green Line, direct trade regulations, and air travel.
Citing recent polls, Erhurman said he believed the upcoming elections would be decided in the first round and urged Turkish Cypriots to vote. “There is no more time to waste,” he said.
