Christodoulides condemns north’s ‘reprehensible’ unilateral declaration of independence

President Nikos Christodoulides on Saturday condemned northern Cyprus’ unilateral declaration of independence as a “reprehensible act”, on its 42nd anniversary.

“Today’s sad anniversary of the illegal and internationally illegitimate attempt by Turkey and the separatist forces in the occupied territories to partition Cyprus with the so-called declaration of the pseudo-state is a reprehensible act which has been rejected by the international community,” he said.

He added that since the 1983 declaration, “Turkey has been making unsuccessful efforts to diplomatically legitimise the illegal entity it created through violence and the illegal presence of its troops in the occupied territories”.

“The flagrant violation of international law and the illegal separatist actions of the occupying regime, which came about as a result of the illegal invasion and occupation, will never be accepted,” he said.

To this, he said that Saturday’s “sad anniversary” serves as a reminder “of our duty to reverse the faits accomplis of the invasion and occupation and to end the unacceptable status quo”.

He said that this must be done “in accordance with United Nations resolutions and the principles and values of the European Union”.

He then said that since he was elected in 2023, he has “set as the main priority” and “is making tireless efforts” to bring about a resumption of negotiations to solve the Cyprus problem from where they left off in the Swiss ski resort of Crans Montana in 2017.

His own efforts, he said, “resulted in the appointment” of UN envoy Maria Angela Holguin, as well as the convening of two enlarged meetings on the Cyprus problem, involving Cyprus’ two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN.

Then, he turned his attention to the prospect of future talks, particularly in light of the election of pro-reunification candidate Tufan Erhurman at last month’s Turkish Cypriot leadership election, replacing Ersin Tatar, who had advocated for a two-state solution.

“With the recent election of the new leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community, I expect that the resumption of talks from where they were interrupted in 2017 will be achieved, without conditions or preconditions, and that a definitive solution will be found. I will continue to work relentlessly towards this end,” he said.

This comment comes after Erhurman has been accused of setting “preconditions” for a return to negotiations.

He has said that for negotiations to resume, the Greek Cypriot side must accept political equality between the two communities, negotiations must be time-limited, all past agreements must be preserved, and the UN must guarantee that embargoes placed on the Turkish Cypriots be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side leaves the negotiating table again.

Previously, he has said he “cannot understand why” his points are seen as preconditions.

“For example, I do not understand why political equality is considered a precondition. Are you not the ones who say the UN security council resolutions are the basis? Political equality is written into those resolutions. Therefore, we cannot make such a thing a bargaining chip at the negotiating table,” he said.

“It is just like bicommunality or bizonality. It is a basic principle. Therefore, we cannot start haggling over it,” he said.