The time has come for the Cyprus talks to be conducted between two states, not two communities, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday, underlining that the Turkish side is adamant third parties do not intervene in the process, Daily Sabah reports.
Addressing Turkish reporters accompanying him on his official visit to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Erdoğan said: "As the Turkish side, we have opened a new page in our national cause, the Cyprus issue, without changing this constructive understanding. Instead of being stuck with parameters that have been proven not to provide a solution, we present a fair, sustainable and realistic solution vision together with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."
"Getting to the core of the issue, we also argue that first of all, the sovereign equality and equal status of the Turkish Cypriot people should be registered. A new negotiation process that will start without guaranteeing the acquired rights of the Turkish Cypriots is destined to fail," he said.
"(In Cyprus) We pose a challenge, we say to the south, 'We can give you water from here if you want. We call it the Peace Spring. They could not want it," Erdoğan also said.
