'Cyprus deal can only achieved with 2-state solution'

LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

A fair, permanent and sustainable agreement on Cyprus can only be achieved based on the equal international status between the two states, the Turkish Cypriot president said late Thursday.

"If our sovereign equality and equal international status are recognized, a fair and permanent agreement can only be achieved on Cyprus through state-to-state negotiations," Ersin Tatar said at Ercan International Airport in Lefkosa after the conclusion of informal talks in Geneva, Switzerland.

"Our expectation from the United Nations Security Council is to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus's sovereignty and bring its status equal with the Greek Cypriot administration," Tatar said.

In this way, a solution can be negotiated and a common ground can be established, he added.

His remarks came after a three-day meeting opened in Geneva on Tuesday with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres aiming to seek "common ground" to resume formal negotiations to find a lasting solution to the decades-old dispute.

"If there is no success achieved in the negotiations, we will continue our way with our state. The important thing is not to lose this ground," said Tatar.

Praising the efforts of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his delegation, Tatar said they tried to represent the rights and interests of the Turkish Cypriots in the best way and took a historic step during the meeting in Geneva.

"Our presentation and new ideas had widespread media coverage in the world,” he said, adding world public opinion saw the difficulties, injustice and victimization of the Turkish Cypriots under the embargo.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long struggle between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

The island has been divided since 1964, when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the European Union in 2004, although most Greek Cypriots rejected a UN settlement plan in a referendum that year, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the EU.