Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar on Tuesday said he and members of the ‘government’ he led between 2019 and 2020 had “convinced Turkey” to support a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem.

“The Republic of Turkey’s acceptance of the policy of a two-state solution was achieved through initiatives made by the TRNC,” he told Kibris Postasi TV.

He said the policy had been “first included in the programme” of the coalition government involving the UBP, the party he led at the time, and the HP, which is led by Kudret Ozersay, who had earlier served as former Turkish Cypriot leader Dervish Eroglu’s chief negotiator.

Ozersay was appointed by Tatar as ‘foreign minister’ when Tatar became ‘prime minister’ in May 2019 and Tatar said on Tuesday that Ozersay had “contributed to this process”.

“However, the key for us was to explain this vision to Turkey and get it accepted,” he said.

He added that the idea of a two-state solution has now been “recorded at the United Nations”, with Tatar having stated his position at various UN-backed meetings since being elected as Turkish Cypriot leader in October 2020.

“With the 3D policy – direct trade, direct flights and direct contact – the international community has been made to question the status quo,” he said.

On this matter, he said his own contributions to talks on the Cyprus problem had been “decisive” in the organisation of the two enlarged meetings on the Cyprus problem which have been held so far this year, in Geneva in March and in New York earlier this month, with a third set to be organised later this year.

Turning his attention to the forthcoming Turkish Cypriot leadership election, which is set to take place in October, he took aim the independent ‘MPs’ who were formerly members of the HP who endorsed his opponent Tufan Erhurman’s candidacy.

“It is a serious political contradiction that some MPs who signed a government programme which, for the first time in history, included the phrase ‘the book of federation is closed’, are now supporting Tufan Erhurman, the CTP’s candidate, the man who defends the federal model,” he said.

He pointed out that both Aysegul Baybars and Jale Refik Rogers, the two independent ‘MPs’ who endorsed Erhurman, as well as former ‘MP’ Gulsah Sanver Manavoglu, were all among those who supported the ruling coalition he led between 2019 and 2020.

“I find it difficult to understand why they are taking a position which is the opposite to the policy which we followed at that time,” he said.

He then insisted that he is ahead in polling for the election.

“Our vote share is increasing even in the opposition’s polls. However, we are in first place according to our own polls,” he said.

No polls have been made public since April.