TRNC President Erhürman: I will not run away from the table, I will not run away

TRNC President Tufan Erhürman answered questions from the İhlas News Agency (İHA) at a press conference held at the TRNC Presidency following the completion of his contacts in New York, USA, within the scope of the high-level week of the 81st United Nations (UN) General Assembly.

Erhürman evaluated whether there would be any changes to the roadmap regarding the solution of the Cyprus issue after the Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA) failed to take the steps expected of them during his approximately 11-month tenure. Speaking about the failure to make progress even on the 7 confidence-building measures brought to the agenda by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the 19 different proposals brought forward by the Greek Cypriot side, Erhürman underlined that the 7 proposed measures in question did not belong to him, in order to avoid any confusion in the public eye.

Erhürman said, "These 7 proposals are not my proposals. I am underlining this specifically. If they were my proposals, the other side would have the right to reject them until the end. Of course, they also have the right to reject the Secretary-General's proposals right now. What has changed is that the things being rejected are now things that have become the Secretary-General's proposals."

Stating that the proposals he put forward were more comprehensive than the 7 items in question, Erhürman expressed that the UN Secretary-General identified the topics where he thought progress was possible and put forward these 7 items. Stating that the UN Secretary-General's proposals could also be rejected, Erhürman said, "However, what needs to be known is that Tufan Erhürman's proposals are much more than these 7 items. The Secretary-General listed these 7 headings to determine what he considered possible. From now on, whether these are rejected or removed from the table is a matter for the Secretary-General to evaluate."

"I will not run away from the table, I will not run away"

Speaking about the roadmap from now on, Erhürman emphasized that he would not leave the negotiating table and would continue his efforts toward a solution throughout his term. The TRNC President used the expressions, "I will not run away from the table, I will not run away. I will work on this issue throughout my five-year term. However, I would also wish for it not to be left until the end of the five years. I will make every effort I can for this."

Expressing that it is not possible to achieve results in the Cyprus issue with unilateral steps, Erhürman said that despite this, he would not limit his contacts only to the Greek Cypriot leadership. Erhürman said, "These are not things I can do unilaterally. However, I do not only talk about the issues I cannot do unilaterally with my counterpart. I convey these to everyone I can make contact with in the world, and I will continue to convey them even more intensely."

Evaluating the current contacts between the TRNC and the GCA, Erhürman used the expressions, "We said it during the election period; there is a table. In my opinion, the current table is not a negotiation table, but a discussion table. And there is a world outside the table."

Emphasizing that the TRNC's international contacts will continue while the talks are ongoing, Erhürman spoke as follows:

"There is no such situation where no other work can be done because the talks are continuing. We can manage to walk and chew gum at the same time. Therefore, these talks will continue. In the meantime, we will continue our contact with the world and our efforts to establish contact."

News Source: 12punto