Newly elected Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhürman and Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides will meet on Nov. 20, in their first encounter since Erhürman took office last month.
According to the official statements issued simultaneously by the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides on Monday, the leaders are scheduled to convene in the U.N.-controlled buffer zone at the residence of the U.N. Secretary-General’s special representative.
TRNC President Erhürman made a statement on his social media account regarding the meeting he will hold for the first time with the Greek Cypriot administration leader. Noting that the will for a solution, sincerity and mutual trust will ensure optimism, “It is the duty of the leaders to create an atmosphere for a solution,” he underlined.
Emphasizing that expectations about the process must be managed correctly, Erhürman remarked, “After all these years, expectations need to be managed properly in the new process that will begin on Thursday.”
Erhürman also noted that statements regarding the process must be made carefully, saying, “Exercising utmost care in statements about the process is essential for progress and I will act with this responsibility.”
Commenting on the scope of Thursday’s first meeting, Erhürman said, “Expecting us to reach clarity on the issues ahead within one hour and more importantly, creating such an expectation would not be correct.” President Erhürman concluded his statement saying, “I hope that this first meeting takes place in a sincere atmosphere that establishes mutual trust and launches a process of meetings that will continue at short but regular intervals.”
After taking the presidency on Oct. 19, Erhürman visited Türkiye as his first trip abroad to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş in Ankara.
During a joint news conference, Erdoğan noted that “The Greek Cypriot side sees the solution for Cyprus as reducing Turkish Cypriots to a minority status in a partnership state that is now defunct,” Erdoğan said, adding that Türkiye maintained its belief that there was a formula in which the two sides could live in peace on the island.
“Our stance on the Cyprus issue has always been clear,” he said, remarking that two states’ existence on the island is the most realistic solution for the Cyprus issue.
On the other hand, the TRNC recently celebrated the 42nd anniversary of its foundation.
Emphasizing that Ankara will continue to strengthen its solidarity with the Turkish Cypriot people in every way, “We will never abandon our national cause, Cyprus,” Erdoğan marked on the occasion.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry separately honored the TRNC’s anniversary, highlighting the decadeslong struggle of the Turkish Cypriot community for sovereignty.
The island has been mired in a decadeslong dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the U.N. to achieve a comprehensive settlement.
In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Türkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. As a result, the TRNC was founded in 1983.
