Turkish Cypriot leader: We want talks that end in a solution, not endless dialogue

In his first major interview since taking office, Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman told Bayrak television on Tuesday that his community will no longer accept negotiations “just for the sake of talking”.

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The Turkish Cypriots, he stressed, are one of the island’s two founding peoples with equal sovereign rights, and any arrangement that ignores or harms them is illegitimate.

“Anything that violates our sovereignty cannot be considered legitimate,” Erhürman said. “We are not a minority – we are a people whose political will must be recognised.”

A new methodology, not new photo-ops

Erhürman reiterated his pre-election four-point proposal for restarting talks, which centres on a clear methodology rather than open-ended dialogue. He has already shared a detailed 10-point list of confidence-building measures that he says would benefit both communities – from new crossing points, such as Ayios Dhometios/Mia Milia, to solar energy projects in the buffer zone.

He dismissed suggestions that Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides has accepted three of the four points. “He has never told me that, not even privately,” Erhürman said. The disputed fourth point is crucial: it demands safeguards so that, if talks collapse again, the status quo cannot simply continue with blame falling solely on the Turkish Cypriot side.

Guarantees are non-negotiable

On the sensitive issue of Turkey’s guarantor status, Erhürman was blunt. A unanimous resolution of the Turkish Cypriot parliament backs the existing system of guarantees, and any attempt to abolish them on day one of negotiations would be a deal-breaker. When Christodoulides recently floated scrapping guarantees, Erhürman dismissed the remark as “null and void” – a phrase he stood by as deliberately harsh.

Regional balance has shifted

Erhürman warned that the Cyprus problem is now embedded in a much wider geopolitical picture. He pointed to intensifying military cooperation between the Republic of Cyprus and Israel, France, and the United States, as well as the Republic’s maritime boundary agreement with Lebanon — signed, he noted, without Turkish Cypriot consent.

“These moves show contempt for Turkish Cypriots and treat us as a minority rather than an equal partner,” he said. “The Greek Cypriot side is trying to reach Turkey by bypassing us. I will oppose that for the rest of my life.”

He also criticised the EU-backed Great Sea Interconnector electricity cable that would link Greece, Cyprus and Israel while excluding Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.

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“No project that excludes Turkey and us can succeed or contribute to peace,” he said. “Real peace is built on interdependence, not exclusion.”

The EU’s original sin

Erhürman repeated his long-standing complaint that the Republic of Cyprus – “essentially the Greek Cypriot administration” – was admitted to the European Union in 2004 before the Cyprus problem was solved. This, he argued, handed the Greek Cypriot side an irreversible structural advantage and allowed it to sign international agreements as the sole legitimate representative of the island.

No rush to another 5+1 summit

While open to a new informal 5+1 meeting (the two communities plus the three guarantor powers – Greece, Turkey, UK – under UN auspices), Erhürman insisted it must not repeat the fruitless gatherings of the past.

“Previous summits in Geneva and New York produced nothing but photographs,” he said. “If we go again, we want to arrive with concrete results already achieved in Nicosia – new crossing points, the buffer-zone solar project, parts of my 10-point package – so the UN Secretary-General can point to real progress.”

Until tangible steps are taken locally, he added, another high-level meeting risks only deepening public disillusionment.

A broader warning

Commenting on recent remarks by a senior U.S. official comparing the Cyprus issue to an “abscess” that must be lanced, Erhürman agreed the problem affects the entire region. Growing U.S. influence, shifting power balances in the Eastern Mediterranean, and the war in Gaza all make a Cyprus settlement more urgent – but also more complicated.

In short, Erhürman’s message was clear: the Turkish Cypriot side is ready for serious negotiations based on political equality, rotating presidency, effective Turkish guarantees and mutual respect. But it will no longer participate in a process designed to run indefinitely without results – or one that treats Turkish Cypriots as a dispensable minority rather than co-owners of the island.

A longer version of this article by EUalive’s partner Politis can be found here.

Caption: Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman told Bayrak television on 2 December that his community will no longer accept negotiations “just for the sake of talking”.