Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said he hopes the result of Sunday’s Turkish Cypriot leadership election will “be beneficial for the Turkish Cypriot people and for the entire island”.
“We are confident that the elections will once again demonstrate the state tradition and culture of democracy in the TRNC,” he said in a post on social media in the early hours of Sunday morning.
He added that Turkey, “as a motherland and guarantor, will continue to defend the just cause of the Turkish Cypriot people and emphasise strongly on every platform that the only realistic solution to the Cyprus issue lies in accepting the existence of two separate states on the island”.
In an earlier appearance on Turkey’s Ulke TV, he had said he hopes for peace, both in the Aegean sea and in the eastern Mediterranean.
“Eternal peace between Turkey and Greece is possible in the Aegean sea. Let’s make it possible. It is possible in the Mediterranean. Let’s make it possible. Equal, sovereign, and shared coexistence between Turks and Greeks on the island of Cyprus is also possible,” he said.
Sunday’s election sees incumbent Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar, who favours a two-state solution to the Cyprus problem, being challenged by opposition-backed candidate Tufan Erhurman, who advocates for a return to negotiations based on a federal solution.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had ruled out any return to negotiations towards a federal solution to the Cyprus problem, regardless of who wins next week’s Turkish Cypriot leadership election.
“The matter of federation is now closed for us. No one can draw us back into talks for a federation with wordplay. Turkish Cypriots will never accept being a minority on the island. The only realistic solution is to accept the existence of two states on the island,” he said.
However, Fidan has in recent months taken a less absolute position, having promised “empathy for the other side” ahead of the second enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem of the year, which took place in New York in July.
He said at the time that the meeting’s “purpose” was to “discuss how a way forward can be found to benefit both communities” and to “create greater stability for the international community and the region, based on a vision which is based on the realities of the island”.
“We are quite constructive on this issue. Our president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan]’s vision on this matter is very clear. We always act with a win-win formula in mind. We never lose our empathy for the other side, but we cannot accept an equation which disregards Turks and their rights,” he said.
He added that the current status quo on the island has “created an environment where Turks’ rights are disregarded”.
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