Such remarks which were made by Guterres are the sign of failure of the recent Cypriot talks in Geneva. Guterres’ goal that was announced at the meeting is to examine the existence of a common ground for starting substantive talks to find a permanent solution to the Cyprus issue. Given the deep differences between the two sides, there were not many expectations from the meeting. Currently, the land ownership crisis is one of the main crises between the two sides. Even holding several UN-sponsored meetings has failed to resolve the Cyprus crisis. Another influential dilemma in negotiations is how to divide political power. The two sides disagree on how to divide power in parliament and government. The Geneva session came four years after the failed Montana-Switzerland summit, following warnings from Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side in support of a two-state solution.

The Turkish Cypriot part considers the talks on the federal system as being over. They emphasize that they deserve equal international standing and national sovereignty based on a two-state solution to work together. The head of the Turkish section suggested that the UN Security Council recognize two independent and equal countries on the Mediterranean island, which is divided between the Turkic and Greek societies. Turkish Cyprus is hopeful of the talks and considers the solution of creating two countries for both sides with access to Turkish airspace and ports as appropriate.

Ersin Tatar, President of the Turkish Section who, with the direct efforts and intervention of the Turkish Justice and Development Party, was able to defeat his powerful rival Mustafa Akinci and become the President of the Turkish Cyprus claims: In the Geneva talks, he called upon all parties to recognize their political sovereignty. Just as we consider Greece, Cyprus and others to be sovereign, they must also accept our sovereignty. According to the prevailing thinking in the Turkish Cyprus, staying with a powerful country like Turkey will enable us to have an independent government in the future.

According to him, developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, contrary to their claims, do not take place in their area of ​​maritime jurisdiction. The Turkish Cypriot people also have rights. Our rights in the maritime homeland are more than they claim. The area they claim is actually much smaller. A significant part of the Turkish Cypriot political and partisan currents, and figures such as former President Mustafa Akinci, believe that Turkey is harming their future. In his view, the current President of the Turkish Cypriots, is repeatedly echoing the words of the Turkish authorities and lacks political independence and credibility. A group of opponents of the ruling current claim that Turkey’s protection comes at a high cost, one of which is non-membership in the European Union.

The Greek part of Cyprus continues to support the process of unification of the island in the form of a federal state, stressing those negotiations must be resumed and insists on a federal solution based on political equality between the two regions. They cite UN Security Council resolutions as well as the 2014 Crans- Montana Declaration in six articles as the basis for this solution.

President of the Republic of Cyprus, Anastasiades, insists on the political will of the Republic of Cyprus to create the right conditions for the start of substantive negotiations for the settlement of the Cyprus issue on the basis of Security Council resolutions. He believes that the negotiations should be based on UN resolutions, the Security Council and the principles and values ​​of the European Union. Our effort is to find a way to make everyone feel safe.

Regarding the meeting, the Greek Foreign Minister said that the statements of the Turkish officials about the “two-state solution” would not help to achieve a positive result in the talks. Greek President Saclaropoulos has emphasized Greece’s commitment to resolving the Cyprus issue on the basis of a two-zone, two-community federation solution, in line with UN Security Council resolutions and EU law. He called for the repeal of the law of the guarantor states and the right of third countries to intervene in the internal affairs of Cyprus and the complete withdrawal of the occupying forces from the island. According to the Greek side, the framework of negotiations is clear and cannot be anything other than a federation of two zones and two communities. From Athens point of view, the settlement of the Cyprus problem will be possible only within the framework of a federation of two zones and two communities, with one sovereignty, one citizenship and one international representation, and of course with the withdrawal of the occupant army and the repeal of the law of the guarantor countries.

The Turkish President supports the two-state solution and claims that the country will not leave the Turkish Cypriots alone and will not allow the rights of Northern Cyprus to be violated and will intervene if necessary. Erdogan threatens that their ships will be on alert at any moment, and if there is the need to take some steps, they will be taken without hesitation.

According to the spokesman for the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP): The Greek sector, as well as Greece, has brought nothing but exaggerated demands to the table. The interests and rights of Northern Cyprus are our red line. The Cyprus issue is vital for Turkey. Erdogan’s government officials refer to the Turkish Cypriot issue as the “National Cause” (Milli Dava). The Turkish government continues to insist on the idea of ​​establishing two independent and separate states on the island of Cyprus. Although the talks were considered, from a technical and diplomatic point of view, as an informal meeting, they were not insignificant to either side, and the talks sought to reach new conclusions on the differences between the two parts of Cyprus after a long pause.

Turkey invaded and occupied the northern part of the island of Cyprus in 1974. In that year, the government of Archbishop Makarios, the then President of Cyprus, was overthrown in a military coup, and Turkey deployed its army units in the north of the country, citing its position as a guarantor of Cyprus sovereignty. This led to the division of the island of Cyprus into Turkish and Greek parts. The land ownership crisis is one of the main crises between the two sides, and holding several meetings at the United Nations has so far failed to have an impact on resolving the crisis.

The previous meeting on Cyprus issue, held in 2017 in Crans-Montana, was also attended by the European Union. Athens and Nicosia, which support the EU participation in the negotiations, assess that the EU participation in the negotiations is inevitable if progresses is achieved at the forthcoming Geneva meeting. Turkey claims that the EU’s main goal is to try to put Turkey in bottlenecks in the Mediterranean and take full control of Cypriot airspace. In addition to Greek Cypriot airspace, the European Union is said to be demanding control of Turkish Cypriot airspace, stressing that there are economic goals and interests behind the EU plan. Therefore, this airspace is not used by aircraft of foreign airlines. Without using this airspace, EU countries will not be able to easily cross India and South Asia and will have to pass through Turkish or Iranian airspace.