The occupying side persists with its extreme, irrational, and illegal stance. They have once again presented to Ms María Angela Holguín Cuellar their demand for the priori recognition of the pseudo-state before any discussions can commence.
The occupying side is demanding to be acknowledged as a state entity before any process begins.
The envoy of the UN Secretary-General, on her third trip to the island, held separate meetings on Wednesday with President Christodoulides and the occupation leader, Ersin Tatar. In setting her strategy, she sought to pressure both sides by publicly calling on Christodoulides and Tatar to heed the voice of civil society. What she means by this is another matter and, in fact, a huge topic for another time.
However, this appeal, her new effort in general, fell on deaf ears. Tatar, in his meeting with Ms Holguín and subsequent statements, repeated the familiar fairy tale, the well-known Turkish narrative. “It is clear that there is no common ground,” he said. “What we have said is that we demand sovereign equality and equal international status. To achieve this, certain steps must be taken. Our sovereignty must be clearly defined.”
Logically, with these statements, any effort comes to a halt. Neither the United Nations can accept the Turkish terms, as they fall outside their mandate, nor can the Republic of Cyprus engage in such irrational discussions. However, since we seek a solution, it is good that efforts continue, and we support this.
It is evident that without recognising the pseudo-state, the secessionist entity, the Turkish side will not take any steps towards restarting negotiations. But if Turkish demands for recognition are met, there will be no need for any further discussion. The occupation side will have achieved its goal. They will legitimise their illegal occupation of the territory of the Republic of Cyprus, and the consequences of this continued occupation will be accepted.
It is obvious that recognising the occupation regime would be tantamount to the Republic of Cyprus shooting itself in the foot. It would be an act of self-destruction, and this will not happen under any circumstances by Nicosia!
We await clarification from the United Nations, from Ms Holguín, publicly stating that the Turkish demand for recognition is not on the table.
