Turkey Hardens Line on Reunification - Report
February 3, 2021
Turkey has hardened its line on Cyprus - or finally shown its true intentions - after Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu ruled out reunification between the Greek-and-Turkish Cypriots.
Mr. Cavusoglu said that reunification is off the table in future talks which should be conducted on the basis of two equal and sovereign states, according to GreekReporter.com.
This is a U-turn on Cavusoglu’s position in 2017 when he said that reunification is needed. But since then, Turkey’s interests are actively promoted in Cyprus by Ersin Tatar who unilaterally reopened Famagusta city.
The Turkish foreign minister’s position opposes reams of United Nations (UN) resolutions, the European Union’s (EU) position, Greece’s position, the United States (US) position and the Republic of Cyprus’ position.
The majority position supports a federal solution in Cyprus, not two separate states.
If Turkish-Cypriot leader and hardliner Ersin Tatar takes Cavusoglu’s at the next meeting with President Anastasiades, there appears to be little hope of progress at the political level.
Direct talks between the community leaders fizzled out in 2017 after a high-level meeting at Crans Montana failed to reach an reunification agreement. Recently, UN efforts were renewed to bring the leaders together for talks but it is unlikely that there is any basis of agreement after Cavusoglu’s statements.
Turkey is under immense pressure to stop drilling in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and faces sanctions for its military aggression towards foreign companies with government contracts to explore for hydrocarbons. Turkey’s hard lines on Cyprus further damage its relationship with the EU and any prospects of future membership.
Cavusoglu’s plain talking is a departure from Turkey’s usual lip service to reunification and creates more uncertainty over the island’s future. Under the circumstances, it will be up to the UN, US and EU to push forward the reunification solution and help the Republic of Cyprus to reach an equitable agreement with the Turkish-Cypriot community.
