Erhurman hopes for ‘concrete results’ from Holguin’s next visit

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman on Monday said he is hoping for United Nations envoy Maria Angela Holguin’s next visit to the island to “yield concrete results aimed at creating the atmosphere for a solution”.

He wrote in a post on social media that the negotiation process has not been “frozen”, and that “technical-level discussions and diplomatic contacts are continuing”.

To this end, he said Holguin will return to Cyprus later this month, and that the Turkish Cypriot side is “ready for the meeting”.

“In line with our results-oriented approach, our request is that the technical-level work be accelerated before that meeting and that Holguin’s visit yield concrete results aimed at creating the atmosphere for a solution,” he said.

He also passed comment on what he described as the “peeking through the hole ritual”, wherein foreign dignitaries who visit Cyprus, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and all 26 of her commissioners, are taken to the Green Line and are frequently photographed looking northwards through piles of barrels or holes in walls.

“Frankly, under the current circumstances, no matter how I look at it, I cannot say that I take it very seriously or find it very significant. After decades of unresolved issues and years of stagnation, creating the atmosphere for a solution in Cyprus is a very serious undertaking,” he said.

To this end, he added, “we are continuing our contacts and efforts seriously and patiently in line with our people’s will for a solution”.

In addition, he made reference to the issue of the north not being served by direct passenger flights from any country from Turkey, and said that while the issue is “very important” and that “we will not give up on our demands regarding it”, “this should not be used as an excuse for the lack of solution to the problems we face in our tourism sector”.

“If people think that there is nothing else we can do for our tourism sector unless there are direct flights, I do not agree with that thought,” he said.

It is expected that a fresh enlarged meeting on the Cyprus problem, involving the island’s two sides, its three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey, and the United Kingdom, and the UN, will take place in the weeks that follow Holguin’s visit.

Erhurman remains resolute on his four points for negotiations to recommence in earnest.

Those four points, sometimes referred to as “preconditions” – a term Erhurman resents – foresee that the Greek Cypriot side accept political equality, time-limit negotiations, and preserve all past agreements, and that the UN guarantee that embargoes placed on the Turkish Cypriots be lifted if the Greek Cypriot side leaves the negotiating table again.