(18 Mar 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Geneva – 18 March 2025
1. Wide of news conference with Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Ersin Tatar, Turkish Cypriot leader:
“For four years I have been promulgating that unless our sovereign equality and sovereign equal international status (to Greek Cypriots) is endorsed, we will not be sitting to negotiate the Cyprus problem.”
3. Close of Tatar listening to question
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Ersin Tatar, Turkish Cypriot leader:
“My proposals are aimed at the creation of much-needed cultural cooperation that will pave the way for an eventual negotiated settlement, notwithstanding the fact that the main impediment to a settlement has been the inequality of status between the two sides.”
5. Wide of press conference
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Ersin Tatar, Turkish Cypriot leader:
“Sovereign equality of the Turkish people is very important, very significant and is a must if we are going to improve our status to a point where we can negotiate the Cyprus problem on a fair basis.”
7. Mid dais with Tatar
8. Various UN Geneva exteriors
STORYLINE:
The Turkish Cypriot leader said Tuesday he wouldn’t sit down for full negotiations on resolving the decadeslong division of the island until his people achieved "sovereign equality" with Greek Cypriots.
Ersin Tatar spoke to reporters after informal talks with his Greek Cypriot counterpart, Nikos Christodoulides, hosted by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Geneva — aimed to help long-stalled peace talks resume.
Tatar said he was "satisfied" with the outcome of the talks, after which Guterres said he would appoint a personal envoy to help plot the way forward before a new set of discussions at the end of July.
The Mediterranean island was divided when Turkey invaded the northern part in 1974 following a failed coup by supporters of a union with Greece.
Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence, and has more than 35,000 troops in the island’s northern third.
Although Cyprus joined the European Union in 2004, only the Greek Cypriot south, where the internationally recognized government is seated, enjoys full membership benefits.
The U.N. chief said Christodoulides and Tatar agreed to trust-building initiatives on issues like energy, environment, border crossings, youth affairs and de-mining.
Separately, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides said he considered it "crucial" that the two sides decided to hold another such meeting in July to assess progress made between now and then.
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