Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has rejected President Nikos Christodoulides’ proposal to place the fenced-off area of Varosha under United Nations administration in exchange for allowing the Port of Famagusta to operate under European Union supervision for direct trade.
Erhurman described the proposal as unbalanced and argued that it is a formula that was already discussed and rejected in 2006.
According to Turkish Cypriot newspaper Kıbrıs Postası, Erhurman also said Christodoulides had not provided him with a written 19-point package, despite references to such a proposal in media reports.
‘Famagusta port is already open’
Erhurman argued that the real issue is not the operation of the port itself but the inability of Turkish Cypriots to conduct direct trade with the European Union.
“The Port of Famagusta is open. It is not a closed port. The problem with our ports is that we cannot conduct direct trade with the European Union,” he said.
He added that he had asked President Christodoulides whether the proposal involved implementing the Direct Trade Regulation, and said he received a negative response.
According to Erhurman, the proposal suggests that direct trade could begin because the port would operate under EU supervision, even though the Direct Trade Regulation itself would not be implemented.
‘This is not a balanced proposal’
The Turkish Cypriot leader questioned why the transfer of Varosha to UN administration should be linked to the possibility of direct trade through the port.
“Why should the handover of Varosha to the United Nations be the price for this? Are these balanced proposals?” he asked.
Erhurman said the idea is not new and recalled that a similar proposal had been presented in 2006 during the leadership of Mehmet Ali Talat.
He noted that Talat had rejected the proposal at the time and said he shares that position.
“This is not something I can accept,” he said.
‘I will not negotiate for the sake of negotiating’
During the same interview, Erhurman also addressed his decision not to participate in the recent trilateral meeting in New York.
He said negotiations should not continue simply to keep a process alive if there is no realistic prospect of a meaningful outcome.
“I will not negotiate just for the sake of negotiating. I will not keep you at this table for another ten years,” he said.
Erhurman reiterated his view that any new Cyprus process must have a clear direction and realistic prospect of producing results, rather than extending into another prolonged cycle of inconclusive talks.
