IKV Chairman Ayhan Zeytinoğlu issued a press statement ahead of the 5+UN informal meeting on the Cyprus issue to be convened in Geneva on 27-29 April 2021. Indicating that Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) will go to Geneva with a new vision, IKV Chairman made the following remarks:

“On 27-29 April, Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders and the representatives of the three guarantor powers; Turkey, Greece and the UK will come together in Geneva under the auspices of UN Secretary General António Guterres. The parties are expected to openly express their views on the future of the island and the settlement of the Cyprus issue in the meeting which will be held in an informal format. During the three-day Geneva meeting, UN Secretary General Guterres will try to determine whether the parties could meet on a common vision for a lasting solution to the  Cyprus issue. In this respect, the Geneva meeting does not entail a negotiation round, but it is held in order to determine whether common ground exists for launching a new process.

In Geneva, the TRNC with full support from Turkey, will present its new vision of  a two-state solution based on sovereign equality. As known, despite the constructive stance and good faith demonstrated by Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side, the pursuit of a solution on the basis of a bi-zonal and bi-communal federation which has been the formula until now, has repeatedly failed to produce results because of the intransigence of the Greek Cypriot side. Despite having rejected the Annan Plan envisaging a federal solution with a majority of 76 percent, the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus (GCASC) was admitted to the EU based on the claim that it represented the entire island which was in violation of international law and EU values. On the other hand, the Turkish Cypriot side, who said ‘yes’ to the plan with 65 percent, was deprived of the benefits of EU membership due to the attitude of the other side and continues to be subject to embargoes. Initiatives aimed at ending the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot side such as the Direct Trade Regulation could not be implemented due to the Greek Cypriot side’s objections. The unilateral EU accession of the Greek Cypriot side has rendered resolving the Cyprus issue even more difficult. Once in the EU, the Greek Cypriot side has not hesitated to use its position within the EU against Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots and abuse the EU’s decision-making procedures to this end, as it continued to be the party walking away from the negotiation table. As made crystal clear during the Crans Montana talks in July 2017 which broke down due to the maximalist demands and intransigence of the Greek Cypriot side, the Greek Cypriot Administration does not intend to share political power nor prosperity with the Turkish Cypriot side.

As long as the mentality that sees Turkish Cypriots as a minority rather than an equal partner persists on the Greek Cypriot side, reaching a partnership on the basis of a federation does not seem possible. The current situation, in which 53-year-long efforts for a solution have failed to produce results, requires new ideas on the Cyprus issue and a new vision based on the existing realities on the island. As argued by Turkey and the TRNC, cooperation between two states living side by side on the basis of equal status and sovereign equality is the realistic and sustainable solution. At this point, it is understood that initiating a new process in Cyprus will depend on the acceptance of the sovereign equality of the TRNC. In Geneva, the Turkish Cypriot side will explain to the other participants why the two-state solution model based on sovereign equality is the realistic, sustainable and right solution. We hope that rather than insisting on the federal solution that has been repeatedly tried and instrumentalized by the Greek Cypriot side to maintain the status quo, the other stakeholders of the process will be open to new ideas at the meeting in Geneva."

IKV Chairman Zeytinoğlu concluded his speech by evaluating the EU’s position and said the following: “The EU has also requested to participate in the informal meeting in Geneva as an observer. However, it was stated that the EU representatives would not participate in the Geneva meeting after the TRNC voiced valid concerns about the impartiality of the EU due to Greece and the Greek Cypriot Administration being EU members. The EU, which has made a huge strategic mistake by admitting the Greek Cypriot side as a member prior to a solution in Cyprus at the expense of its own values, has lost its objectivity in the context of the Cyprus issue. As known, due to the EU's strategic mistake, the opening of a total number of 14 chapters and the provisional closing of all chapters in Turkey’s EU accession talks have been blocked by the EU Council and the Greek Cypriot Administration. Moreover, the EU’s disregard for the legitimate rights of Turkey and Turkish Cypriots and its unconditional support for Greek and Greek Cypriot claims regarding the disputes over sharing of natural resources and maritime jurisdiction areas in the Eastern Mediterranean under the pretext of ‘Union solidarity', have strained Turkey-EU relations. We invite the EU to pursue a balanced position regarding the Cyprus issue. The EU, designing tools to convince the Greek Cypriot side to act in a more constructive way, instead of taking steps to reinforce the injustice caused by the unilateral membership of the Greek Cypriot Administration, can contribute to improving Turkey-EU relations as well as peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean. We call on the EU to deliver on its promises to the Turkish Cypriot people."