In the meeting titled “Cyprus: Is there any hope for a solution?” held at TEPAV, the views on the Cyprus problem were shared.
In the meeting titled “Cyprus: Is there any hope for a solution?” held at TEPAV on January 24, views on the Cyprus problem and the possible solutions were discussed. It was emphasized that the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey lost their appetite for a biz-zonal, bi-communal federation, whereas the two-state solution proposed by Turkey is not being accepted at the moment by the other parties.
Nilgün Arısan Eralp, Director of the Center for EU Studies at TEPAV, who was the moderator of the meeting, stated in her opening speech that the Cyprus problem, which is perceived as a "frozen" conflict by the international community, is indeed important in many respects. She iterated the respective solution attempts to the problem that have been inconclusive. Finally she said “time will tell whether the results of the upcoming elections in Turkey, Greek Cyprus and Greece will be effective in resolving the Cyprus problem”.
The pressure on Turkish Cypriots brings the administration closer to Ankara
In the meeting, International Crisis Group (ICG) Project Director Nigar Göksel, who shared the significant parts of their upcoming report on the Cyprus problem, said that the pressure on the citizens of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) brought the TRNC administration closer to Ankara and listed her suggestions that could be beneficial for Turkish and Greek Cypriots.
“A frozen conflict”
Speaking as the second panelist, Dr. Bülent Alirıza, on the other hand, interpreted the current situation on the island also as a "frozen conflict" and said, "The TRNC, which wanted a solution in the past, is now discouraged about a bicommunal, bi-zonal federation. The Justice and Development Party , after supporting the Annan Plan that was rejected by Greek Cypriots in 2004 and the inconclusive Crans Montana process that ended in 2017, does not want to support such a solution either. Currently they are focusing on a two-state solution that Greek Cypriots do not seem to favor”.
