Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has argued that the European Union should support efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem from outside the negotiating table rather than participate directly in future talks.

Speaking to Turkish newspaper Gazete Pencere following a meeting with the UN secretary-general’s personal envoy for Cyprus, María Ángela Holguín, Erhurman said the process was continuing in “full consultation and coordination” with Ankara and that there were no disagreements with the Turkish government.

He said the Turkish Cypriot side was not opposed in principle to a new 5+1 conference format involving the guarantor powers – Turkey, Greece and Britain – alongside the two Cypriot sides and the United Nations.

However, he stressed that meaningful negotiations would require adequate groundwork before any such meeting could take place.

“We do not have an approach that says there should be no 5+1 meeting if conditions have not fully matured,” he said. “But for such a meeting to take place, we need to know that the necessary preliminary preparations have been made.”

Erhurman reiterated four conditions he believes should underpin any new negotiation process: that political equality should not be subject to negotiation, that talks should operate within a clear timetable, that previous convergences should be reaffirmed, and that there should be no return to the current status quo if the Greek Cypriot side withdraws from the process.

“We will not participate in a framework without a timetable and without a deadline. The United Nations is well aware of this,” he said.

Addressing his relationship with Ankara, Erhurman dismissed suggestions that tensions could emerge with the Turkish government, insisting that developments on the Cyprus issue are always conducted in consultation with Turkey.

“At the moment we are in full consultation and coordination, and this continues on a daily basis,” he said. “At every stage we are in direct contact. We are continuing the process in complete coordination and consultation without encountering any problems whatsoever.”

On the role of the European Union, Erhurman argued that the bloc could not be a participant in negotiations because the Republic of Cyprus is already an EU member state, which he claimed would undermine the neutrality of the process.

“The common position of Turkey and ourselves is that the European Union cannot be one of the parties sitting at the negotiating table,” he said.

At the same time, he argued that the EU could play a constructive role outside the talks through its own mechanisms, particularly on issues relating to the lifting of what the Turkish Cypriot side describes as isolation measures and restrictions on direct trade.

“I believe that this time the EU owes us a contribution, not through its presence at the table, but by facilitating the process through actions outside it,” he said.

Erhurman stopped short of expressing either optimism or pessimism about the latest diplomatic efforts, saying it was too early to draw conclusions.

“In an environment where the UN secretary-general is launching a new initiative, it would not be right to say there is no hope,” he said.

“We will try to contribute to the process in good faith, but it is still far too early for me to say whether I am optimistic or pessimistic.”