“Ms. Holgin's mission is over. No re-appointment of a personal representative of the DG is required. I said that if such a proposal comes, we will reject it and we cannot approve it," said Ersin Tatar speaking by phone on a TV show of the Cypris Group before departing from New York. “We have a lot of respect for Ms. Holgin. He worked for 6 months and declared that there is no common ground," he said.
Asked about the extended informal meeting, the Turkish leader said the Turkish side had asked Britain to participate. "We say that the EU side should be careful in this matter. We say that in order to ensure equality at the table, there should be a Turkish Cypriot side and the motherland Turkey (on the one hand), and on the other, an EU and Greek side. When Britain gets involved, the balance at the table is upset. A subsequent meeting or review meeting will have expanded participation," he said.
Mr Tatar said that at the dinner he mentioned that “we are definitely not negotiating a federation. The federation's notebook is closed. We have stated this clearly." "The issues that we can discuss in Cyprus can be to the benefit of both peoples and be implemented before a solution, on the basis of equality. Crossing points are an example. We will make assessments in Nicosia for the opening of a roadblock in Mia Milia," he said.
Asked how the atmosphere was, Mr. Tatar said that he and President Christodoulidis went up in the same elevator to the floor where the dinner was held and commenting that (in the photos) they did not shake hands, he said that they did shake hands in the elevator. "Of course it was not a comfortable atmosphere. The a/c side came to discuss the federation. I said we would never accept that and the GG understood that. Everything was discussed in detail in the meeting that lasted an hour and a half."
Reiterating his position on his vision, he added: "Because there can be no forced marriage, our terms are these. Let's talk on these terms.''
In another short video attributed to the Turkish Anadolu news agency and relayed by Turkish media, Ersin Tatar states that Turkey's guarantees and the Turkish army are red lines and really necessary elements for a fair, permanent and sustainable agreement in Cyprus that will continue in peace, tranquility and security.
"The Republic of Turkey has rights and legal bases in both the Western and Eastern Mediterranean. At the same time, the TDC and the Turkish Cypriot people have rights and legal bases in the energy wealth around Cyprus," he said, referring to the pseudo-state. Therefore, he continued, "when we look at it from this perspective, Turkey is both the motherland of the Turkish people, and a guarantor country, and at the same time, the most powerful country in this region. And he has rights and justice. Therefore, as Dr. Fazil Kuciuk said 75 years ago, the Cyprus problem cannot be solved without Turkey."
He said it, continued Rauf Denktash and now he says the same thing. "It is not possible to resolve the Cyprus issue without Turkey. Therefore, Turkey must participate in every issue" he concluded.
Source: KYPE