Turkish Cypriot leader: Cyprus needs two-state solution
Ersin Tatar, the leader of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots, insisted that Cyprus needs a two-state solution to the island's 50-year dispute, stressing that the north will otherwise become more dependent on Turkey.
Tatar, a rightwing nationalist backed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, proposed a solution under which the two sides of Cyprus would remain permanently divided with equal sovereign status. Commenting on the idea of reunification, he argued that it is a "waste of time" since Greek Cypriots don't have any incentive from the European Union to share the island.
"Things have got worse. The Greeks refuse to share power. They think they are masters of this island and that it is a Greek Hellenic Island. If we are to resume formal negotiations, we have to have our sovereign equality and status as an independent state recognized," Tatar was cited as saying by the Guardian on Saturday.