"If not today, if not tomorrow, later, the recognition of the tbk will surely come," Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said, adding that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has always put the issue on the international public's agenda. Ersin Tatar reiterated that they will not enter into talks on a federation as in the past and that they are satisfied with the statement of the UN Secretary General that there is no common ground at the moment.
He claimed that they did the right thing for Varosia and said that so far 400 E / Cs have applied, requesting the return of their property.
In an interview with the Anantolou news agency, the Turkish leader said that "we have promoted a policy with the full support of Turkey for the acceptance of two separate sovereign equal states in Cyprus, so that we can enter the formal negotiation process."
He reiterated that they would not enter into federation talks as in the past. "We have been negotiating the federation model for 50 years and no results have been achieved," he said. The UN Secretary General also sees that without the acceptance of the principles of two equal sovereign states and an equal international regime in Cyprus, there will be no common ground and therefore no formal negotiation or process can begin, further Tatar said. "Mr Guterres, although he tries to be impartial, is pleased with the fact that he has confirmed that there is no common ground at the moment," he said.
He went on to say that co-operation is important so that "two peoples" can live side by side, adding that this could be in areas such as health, forensics, the environment and energy. As he said, there are many people who work in the bi-communal committees, who cooperate with the Greek Cypriot community on issues that may affect daily life, saying that they support this. However, he claimed, the Greek Cypriots do not sincerely support the work of the bi-communal committees as much as they themselves.
Sovereignty "tdbk" important for Turkey's security
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The Turkish Cypriot leader argued that the essence of the Cyprus problem is based on the "sharing of sovereignty", adding that our sovereignty is at least as legitimate as that of the Greek Cypriots. "Our arguments are that we are as sovereign as they are."
The Greek Cypriots, he claimed, "want to drag us within the EU to a single sovereignty. With a solution that will be imposed, they want over time the strongest to extend its dominance to the weakest in the north. This is something we will never accept. Turkey will not allow it anyway. "As a result, the security and existence of the Turkish people is of course very important for the Turkish people, but the continuation of the Turkish state as a sovereign state is important for the security of Turkey as well."
Ersin Tatar said that the Greek Cypriot side insisted on a single point of sovereignty, adding that the Greek Cypriots "dream of integrating the Turkish Cypriots into the Republic of Cyprus, which has become a Cypriot state, leaving their own state."
Regarding the withdrawal of US support for the EastMed pipeline in the eastern Mediterranean, Ersin Tatar said: "When you look at the details of EastMed, the distance and the cost, it was obvious that this would be the case, feasible project ".
In the event of an agreement in Cyprus, Turkey is only 40 miles from here, he continued. "The possibility of achieving it would also be much more substantial. All hydrocarbons can be transported to the EU via Turkey. "It was up to the Americans and others to see that the EastMed project is not feasible and to make statements in that direction."
Varosia
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For Varosia, Ersin Tatar claimed that "they are within the borders of the TRNC, the gradual opening process began in October 2020, after 46 years". He claimed that with this they sent a message to the whole world that "the game has changed. "Cyprus and the Turkish side have developed a new vision."
He argued that the opening of Varos had benefited both the economy and tourism in the occupied territories. At the same time, he said, "it gives the right to apply through the Real Estate Commission for the return of the beneficiaries there in 1974, eliminating human rights injustices."
The Greek Cypriots, who had the right to submit an application to the "Real Estate Committee" since 1974, "created problems in the domestic policy of the Greek Cypriot side. This is the problem of the e / k side, but we did the right thing ", he claimed.
Ersin Tatar said that in the last year and a half in Varosia investments have been made in infrastructure and major cleaning projects, adding that despite the epidemic, almost 400 thousand people have visited the open parts of Varosia so far.
According to him, there are more than 400 Greek Cypriot applications for Varosia. "The Greeks have submitted new applications to the Commission, but there is too much pressure from the Greek Cypriot side calling on them, be careful not to apply, your request for the return of the property to Varosia would increase the legitimacy of the TRNC. There is pressure in the form of oppression. This is against e / k politics. "They are putting people under pressure. If they left the world, everyone would come to apply."
He also said that some of the applicants would settle down and some would sell and that "it depends on the rights of these people. The Administration of the Cyprus Vakufia also has historical rights in Varosia ".
Ersin Tatar said 3,5% of Varos had been opened so far and had been converted from a military to a civilian area, adding that initiatives would continue over time.
On the recognition of a pseudo-state
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Ersin Tatar said that "the TRNC has contacts with all parts of the world, students and tourists from more than 100 different countries come to the TRNC" and trade indirectly with more than 100 countries.
Stating that although the pseudo-state is not officially recognized, they had contacts and that the official recognition was an issue that was not done due to the veto of the e / k side.
"Over time, we will try to increase our relations with the whole world by launching a bigger campaign to gain more acceptance and to prove that the Turkish people are also right in recognizing human rights," he added.
"Turkey has always been with us in this struggle. President Tayyip Erdo .an has always put our issue on the agenda of international public opinion and this is a great opportunity for us. If not today, if not tomorrow, this recognition (ss: of the pseudo-state) will surely come later. "Because there is the reality that there are two separate states, peoples and cultural structures in Cyprus, no one can deny this reality," said Ersin Tatar.