Foreign Minister Ertuğruloğlu met with Turkish press members in Washington DC
“The existence and sovereignty of the TRNC are not issues that we can ever compromise on”
“We have clearly stated that this dinner will be held in an atmosphere where federation will not be discussed in any way”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu stated that the existence and sovereignty of the TRNC are not issues that can ever be compromised and emphasized that their sensitivity on this issue continues to be unchanged.
Regarding the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ invitation to President Ersin Tatar and the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus for an informal dinner in New York, Ertuğruloğlu said, “We clearly stated that this dinner will be held in an atmosphere where the federation issue will not be discussed in any way.”
During his meeting with members of the Turkish press in Washington DC as part of his US contacts, Ertuğruloğlu assessed current developments.
Ertuğruloğlu noted that President Ersin Tatar met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York, where the main topics regarding Cyprus were discussed.
Ertuğruloğlu, who said, “The existence and sovereignty of the TRNC are not issues that we can ever compromise on” emphasized that their sensitivity on this issue has never changed.
Ertuğruloğlu explained that UN Secretary General Guterres invited President Tatar and the leader of the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus to an informal dinner in New York on October 15 and that Tatar would attend this dinner.
“We have clearly stated that this dinner will be held in an atmosphere where the federation issue will not be discussed in any way,” said Ertuğruloğlu, indicating that the federation issue is now a closed chapter and has lost its validity.
IT SHOULD NOT BE PERCEIVED AS “A FEDERATION NEGOTIATION”
Emphasizing that there are two separate states and two separate peoples on the island and that everyone should handle the issue accordingly, Ertuğruloğlu said that it would not be right to reject Guterres’ dinner invitation but underlined that their participation in this invitation should in no way be perceived as “a federation negotiation.”
Ertuğruloğlu stated that it is absolutely impossible to reach an agreement through any means or method other than recognizing the existence of the TRNC.
Stating that the Israeli government’s aggression is completely unacceptable, Ertuğruloğlu emphasized that they are closely following the impact of the increasing tension in the Middle East on the island.
