The joint press conference in Ankara between Turkish President Erdoğan and the newly elected Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman appears to be more than a diplomatic formality. It served as a coordinated platform to signal a significant shift away from the long-standing framework for Cyprus negotiations. The meeting challenges the viability of the bizonal, bicommunal federation model, as evaluated until 2017 Crans Montana summit, elevating a two-state solution from a negotiating point to what appears to be a firm precondition for future talks.
For the Cyprus problem, this development suggests that the current diplomatic impasse may become more entrenched. It significantly tempers expectations within the international community that Erhürman’s election might signal a more flexible Turkish Cypriot approach. By closely aligning his position with Ankara’s, Erhürman has underscored a unified Turkish and Turkish Cypriot stance. This presents a formidable challenge to UN and EU-led initiatives, as their entire framework is built on a federalist premise that both leaders have now publicly labeled as obsolete.
Erdoğan’s remark—"You cannot dry today's laundry with yesterday's sun"—can be assessed as a calculated rhetorical move to render past negotiation efforts irrelevant. The statement serves a dual purpose for Ankara: it projects a unified front with the new Turkish Cypriot leadership and attempts to reframe the narrative, placing the onus for the stalemate on those who adhere to what he terms a failed formula. The overarching message is one of recalibration: that the previous terms of engagement are no longer considered valid, and any future process must begin from a new starting point centered on the reality of two separate, sovereign states on the island.
Photo: T24