CBMs are a re-heated dish, says Tatar

Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar has repeated that a solution based on bizonal federation was non-functional and that there was no turning back from the two-state solution now backed by Turkey.

He also dismissed President Anastasiades’ proposals for confidence building measures (CBMs) as nothing but a re-heated dish.

“A federal based solution will not yield any results and is no longer functional for us. The solution model based on sovereign equality and cooperation between the two states is the most correct and consistent,” Ersin Tatar said during his appearance on a Turkish Cypriot television station.

“This equality is a right. There is no turning back from this policy. When sovereign equality is accepted then we will talk about the Cyprus problem,” Tatar added.

He further stressed that he has received full support from Turkey on this and that in his meetings with the Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglou “our policy was confirmed.”

As far as Varosha was concerned Tatar said that “we have attracted more than five hundred thousand visitors and right now all our hotels are fully booked. We are close to the 2019 tourism levels. The opening of Varosha has expanded our tourist capacity considerably.”

Regarding the CMBs, Tatar rehashed the position that they were nothing new and that certain aspects may encroach on ‘TRNC’ sovereignty.

“This CBM package is nothing new, it’s a re-heated dish served as fresh. This is a big game and a trap,” Tatar said.

“A sovereign state cannot accept this. By handing Ercan airport over to the UN and Famagusta port over to the EU, amounts to surrendering TRNC’s sovereignty over to the Republic of Cyprus…The package includes the return of Varosha. We do not accept this,” Tatar added.

Commenting about CBMs, reportedly being prepared by the Turkish Cypriots, President Anastasiades said on Tuesday they would be welcome as long as they were in line with UN resolutions.

“If they maintain this uncompromising and unacceptable position it’s better to not even submit them,” Anastasiades added.

Meanwhile a deputy for the opposition CTP, Fikri Toros, was scathing about Tatar’s comments against federation.

“If Mr Tatar does not reconsider his new policy, a policy that no country in the world will accept, he will be dealing a major blow to the will of the Turkish Cypriot people for a federal solution,” he said