On Tuesday, October 14, Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides said he discussed the Cyprus problem with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of a summit on the future of the Gaza Strip. The meeting took place yesterday in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Christodoulides and Trump arrived in Sharm el-Sheikh along with leaders from more than twenty countries. Photos circulated in the media showing them shaking hands on the sidelines of the event.
Answering journalists’ questions about the content of the conversation, Christodoulides limited himself to a short comment: “I can only say that the Cyprus issue was discussed.”
On the eve of the summit, the President of Cyprus said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the prospects for resuming negotiations to resolve the Cyprus problem. According to him, hopes for progress could increase if the current Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar gives way to the opposition candidate Tufan Erhurman in the near future.
Erhurman, unlike Tatar, advocates a return to negotiations based on a federal solution, a model that Nikos Christodoulides also supports.
Meanwhile, the Turkish leadership openly demonstrates support for Ersin Tatar. On the eve of the elections, high-ranking Turkish politicians visited the occupied part of the island.
Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz spent three days in Cyprus campaigning for Tatar but unexpectedly left the island on Sunday evening. Earlier, during one of his visits, he spoke at a campaign event in support of Tatar, together with the Turkish Ambassador to Nicosia Ali Murat Basheri.
Other prominent figures who visited the island for a similar purpose include former Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, ex-Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Zafer party leader Umit Ozdağ and former football player Mesut Ozil, who has also publicly expressed support for Tatar.
Ankara's intervention has drawn criticism even among Turkish Cypriots. The mayor of northern Nicosia, Mehmet Harmanci, called Ozil's visit an "interference" and accused him of participating in a "government PR campaign."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously ruled out the possibility of returning to negotiations on a federal solution to the Cyprus problem.
“The issue of federation is closed for us. No one can drag us into federation negotiations with a play on words. Turkish Cypriots will never accept the fact that they are a minority on the island. The only realistic solution is recognition of two states,” Erdogan said.
The next extended meeting on the Cyprus issue - the third this year - is scheduled for the second half of next month in New York, Donald Trump's hometown. It will be attended by representatives of both communities of the island, the UN, as well as three guarantor countries - Greece, Türkiye and Great Britain.
Source: cyprus-mail.com
