Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President, Greek Cypriot leader hold talks on Cyprus issue

Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President, Ersin Tatar and Nikos Christodoulides, head of the Greek Cypriot Administration, held a meeting Wednesday in the island’s UN buffer zone under United Nations auspices, Anadolu Agency reports.

The meeting was hosted by Colin Stewart, special representative of the UN Secretary-General and head of the UN peacekeeping force (UNFICYP) on the divided island. Tatar was accompanied by the President’s special representative, Gunes Onar, while Christodoulides was joined by Greek Cypriot negotiator, Menelaos Menelaou.

During the 90-minute meeting, Tatar and Christodoulides reportedly discussed the Cyprus issue and last month’s informal talks on the issue in Geneva hosted by UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres.

The UN stated, on behalf of Tatar and Christodoulides, that during their meeting, an agreement was reached on the issue of clearing minefields in border areas to be discussed at the level of special representatives and negotiators, and for an exchange of information regarding dangerous areas.

Additionally, they decided to establish a Bi-communal Youth Technical Committee between the TRNC and the Greek Cypriot Administration, and that the names of the committee members would be submitted to the UN by 15 April.

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TRNC approves Cuellar’s reappointment as UN representative

After the meeting, Tatar held a press conference at the Presidential Office where he announced that, following consultations with Turkiye, they had agreed to approve Maria Angela Holguin Cuellar’s reappointment as the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for Cyprus, a topic raised during the Geneva talks.

Tatar said it seemed the Greek Cypriots would also accept the reappointment, with an official announcement by the UN expected soon.

Tatar clarified that, if Cuellar were reappointed, her role would solely involve assisting the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides on the six issues discussed during the Geneva talks. He emphasized that her mission would not include exploring whether there is common ground between the two sides.

Issue of terrorist group EOKA

Tatar said during his meeting with Christodoulides he brought up the terrorist group, EOKA, specifically objecting to ceremonies and statements made for the 70th anniversary of the group’s founding in the Greek Cypriot Administration and Greece.

Tatar criticised the official recognition by Greek Cypriot authorities of EOKA’s goal to unite Cyprus with Greece, saying: “I informed them that we condemn the official rhetoric and the inflammatory actions related to the terrorist group EOKA.”

Founded in 1955, the terrorist group, EOKA, targeted British soldiers and civil servants on Cyprus – then ruled by the UK – but also Turkish and Greek Cypriots who opposed its extremist ideology and its goal of union with Greece.

In the infamous Bloody Christmas massacre of late 1963 and early 1964, also called Black Christmas, the terrorist EOKA killed more than 370 Turkish Cypriots and displaced 25,000-30,000 others – some 25 per cent of the island’s Turkish Cypriot population – in less than two weeks.

Decades-long conflict

The Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long dispute between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

Ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their own safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at Greece’s annexation of the island led to Turkiye’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence. The TRNC was founded on 15 November, 1983.

It has seen an on-and-off peace process in recent years, including a failed 2017 initiative in Switzerland under the auspices of guarantor countries Turkiye, Greece and the UK.

The Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the EU in 2004, the same year the Greek Cypriots thwarted a UN plan to end the long-standing dispute.

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