Turkish Cypriot Proposal for a Sustainable Settlement

In the ongoing 5+UN meeting in Geneva, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus presented its “Proposal for a Sustainable Settlement”.

United World International documents the proposal in full text.

Turkish Cypriot proposal for a Sustainable Settlement

Informal 5+UN Meeting in Geneva, 27-29 April 2021 

The essence of the Turkish Cypriot proposal is the recognition of the inherent sovereign equality and equal international status of the State of the Turkish Cypriot people, through which a cooperative relationship can be established between the two existing States on the Island.  

This would pave the way for results-oriented, time-framed negotiations towards a realistic and sustainable settlement.

The Turkish Cypriot side has not come to this point overnight, but after decades of long arduous negotiations that have ended in failure, having definitively exhausted all prospects for a bi-communal and bi-zonal federal settlement.

The root-causes of this failure are the Greek Cypriot and Greek vision that Cyprus is an integral part of Hellenism and the unequal status of the two sides that was created in violation of the 1960 Treaties and Constitution after the usurpation of the partnership State in 1963 and its continued occupation. This resulted in a purely Greek Cypriot administration passing itself off internationally as “the sole legitimate government for the whole of Cyprus”. 

The Turkish Cypriot side is one of the parties to the 1960 Treaties (Treaty of Guarantee, Treaty of Establishment, and the Treaty of Alliance) and co-founder, as well as co-owner of the partnership state of the Republic of Cyprus, reflecting its inherent sovereign equality and equal status. The Turkish Cypriot side, which possesses all of attributes of statehood, is thus entitled to the same rights and status that the Greek Cypriot side is entitled to, and is currently exercising.

The mere fact of international recognition, no matter how widespread, cannot excuse or confer legitimacy upon the violations of both domestic constitutional law and international treaty law, through which the Greek Cypriot side usurped the name as well as the government of the “Republic of Cyprus”.

For too long, the Turkish Cypriot side has been treated as by-standers or even  non-existent, while resolutions, decisions, statements, have been adopted in their absence, in platforms where they are not even represented or heard, while the Greek Cypriot side, having usurped and monopolized the title of government, has  given a totally distorted, one-sided view of the situation to the international community. 

Concrete experience and the drastically changed local, regional and international environment, together with the current realities on the Island, compel us to put forward a new proposal that would make Cyprus an island of sustainable stability and peaceful co-existence. 

The Turkish Cypriot side is ready to rise to the challenge that this time must be different by putting its new vision into clear and practical terms.

In this context, this meeting is a historic opportunity to take the necessary steps not only to rectify a grave injustice that continues to be done against the Turkish Cypriot people, but also for removing the root-causes of failure in the way of a sustainable settlement.

The Turkish Cypriot proposal is aimed at establishing a cooperative relationship between the two States on the island based on their inherent sovereign equality and equal international status.

Such a cooperative relationship needs to be based on the following principles and arrangements:

1. The Secretary-General to take an initiative so that the Security Council adopts a resolution in which the equal international status and sovereign equality of the two sides is secured. Such a resolution will form the new basis for the establishment of a cooperative relationship between the two existing States.

2. Once the equal international status and sovereign equality of the two sides is secured through the above-mentioned arrangement, they will enter into results-oriented, time-framed negotiations, on this new basis, under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General to establish a freely-reached and mutually acceptable cooperative agreement.

3. The negotiations will focus on the future relationship between the two independent States, property, security and border adjustment, as well as relations with the EU.

4. The negotiations will be supported by Turkey, Greece and the UK, as well as, where appropriate, the EU as observer.

5. In the context of any agreement the two States will mutually recognize each other; the three Guarantor States will support this.

6. Any agreement to be reached as a result of these negotiations will be submitted for approval in separate simultaneous referenda in the two States.