‘Federation project no longer sustainable,’ Turkish FM tells Lute

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday said that Ankara no longer considers the “federation project” for the reunification of Cyprus as a “sustainable” plan.

In a post on Twitter referring to his meeting with UN special envoy Jane Holl Lute, Cavusoglu said that the “Turkish side promotes two-state settlement based on sovereign equality.”

He also added that “common ground should be reached for new negotiation process.”

On December 2, Lute had held seperate meetings with the island's two leaders in view of assessing willingness and readiness for an informal meeting on the Cyprus Problem. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres had asked Lute to hear out all sides in the Cyprus Problem before he could decide whether he would call a five-party meeting between the Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot leaders also joined by Cyprus’ three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and Britain.

The two Cypriot leaders said they were open to a possible five-party informal meeting but expressed diametrically opposite views on solving the Cyprus Problem.

President Nicos Anastasiades had expressed willingness to join the informal meeting but noted that UN resolutions had to be considered, essentially sticking to a federal framework.

The Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar however was adamant on his position that a new process would require a new basis, reverting to his idea of sovereign equality and effectively calling for a two-state solution.