Cyprus’ leadership is willing to go back to the talks over the Cyprus issue after the negotiations failed last month but the island’s President Nicos Anastasiades emphasized that the new talks should be within the boundaries laid down by UN Secretary General, António Guterres. He, however, also stressed that Ankara was not looking into finding a solution within the UN’s parameters and “prefers to act outside the UN parameters”. Mr. Anastasiades also encouraged all parties interested in finding a solution to the Cyprus problem to “take this into account”.
Ankara announced in July that the failure of the talks demonstrated the “impossibility of a solution within the parameters of the UN Good Offices Mission. There is no meaning left in continuing within these parameters.” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Çavusoglu also added that the Turkish government would continue to look for another solution “under different parameters”.
However, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Kotzias pointed out that Ankara has yet to specify what it means by looking for a solution outside the UN. “I think that any solution to the Cyprus problem must be within the framework of the UN and more generally, within the framework of international law. There can be no solution to the Cyprus problem by imposing mechanisms and procedures that are outside the international context,” he said.
The Cyprus dispute is the ongoing issue of continuing Turkish occupation since 1974 of the northern part of the island. The Republic of Cyprus is recognized as the sole legitimate state, sovereign over the whole island, but the northern third part is de facto under the administration of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is guarded by Turkish Armed Forces. Currently, Turkey is the only country that recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
