When the CNA correspondent in Turkey asked Turkish Presidency sources whether Ankara would support a solution beyond “two states” in Cyprus if the two sides agreed to one, they replied: “What is critical is whether there is a willingness to meet on the basis of the sovereign equality of the two sides.”
According to the same sources, the key issue “is not whether Turkey will react,” but whether the Greek Cypriot side is prepared to accept a formula based on sovereign equality. They added that they do not believe it is easy to receive a positive answer to this question.
Recalling past efforts, the sources argued that in all settlement plans put on the table – most notably the Annan Plan – Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots “maintained a positive stance, while the Greek Cypriot side rejected them.” The sources also reiterated their position that the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union before a settlement of the Cyprus problem “should not have happened.”
According to the Turkish Presidency, the central issue “is not whether Turkey will react,” but whether the Greek Cypriot side is willing to accept a formula that would prevent it from “using its position in the EU to block Ankara’s European course.”
They further claimed that the embargoes against the north should have been lifted and that steps should have been taken to integrate it into the international system – something they argue did not take place.
“Negotiations can take place many times,” they said, noting that even within the Turkish Cypriot community there is a new leader “who does not rule out different approaches”. However, they expressed the view that “genuine political will from the Greek Cypriot side will not emerge.”
Source: CNA