Former UN envoy to Cyprus Alexander Downer met Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar where they discussed it is time for “new ideas” around the Cyprus problem, it emerged on Saturday. According to press reports from the north, Downer said he worked towards solving the Cyprus problem for six years but observed that the same ideas continue to be reiterated.
This will not aid towards accomplishing something and as such “new and creative ideas should be discussed.” Downer visited Tatar at his offices, where he reportedly said he was happy to be back in Cyprus. The two discussed opportunities to solve the Cyprus problem and paths forward.
New Policy and Negotiations
Tatar, in the meantime, was quoted as expressing his joy at meeting Downer, and saying the former Australian foreign minister is well-experienced on the Cyprus problem. He said he explained to Downer his new policy on the Cyprus problem, underlining that official negotiations can begin “with the confirmation of sovereign equality and equal international status.”
Discussions on a federation have not yielded a solution and negotiations on this basis have been exhausted, Tatar was reported as saying. “As such, negotiations on a federation will not begin.”
Attending the meeting were also Tatar’s special representative, advisor for international relations, legal matters and press officer.
