President Ersin Tatar has said that it is out of the question for the Turkish Cypriot side to abandon its vision for a two-state solution based on sovereign equality.

Speaking to Haber Global from New York, Tatar said that he should be allowed, as the elected leader of the Turkish Cypriot people, to address the UN General Assembly.

He said it was wrong for the UN to only allow the Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades to address the General Assembly.

Pointing out that the 1960 Republic of Cyprus had been created by taking the Turkish-Greek balance in the Eastern Mediterranean into account, Tatar said that this balance had been upset when the EU allowed the Greek Cypriot side to unilaterally join the bloc before a solution was reached.

He said that as a result, the balance had tipped in favour of the Greek Cypriot side.

President Tatar also said that the Turkish Cypriot people had suffered greatly in the past which was why it will never give up on Turkey’s guarantees.

“The conditions on the island and the Mediterranean have changed. Cyprus is no longer the Cyprus we know, nor is the Mediterranean the same Mediterranean. The time to change the rules of the game has come. We have changed the rules of the game,” he said.

Regarding the Greek Cypriot side’s latest proposals, Tatar pointed out that the proposals raised by the Greek Cypriot leader were aimed at confusing the international community.

“These attempts are in no way acceptable. We will not allow anyone to bully the TRNC,” he said, adding that the Turkish Cypriot side will not take any steps that would strip Turkish Cypriots of their sovereign rights or independence.

Asked what he expected from his upcoming meeting with the UN Secretary-General, President Ersin Tatar said that he will be conveying the Turkish Cypriot side’s opposition to the appointment of a new special representative who will insist on restarting a process for a federal settlement.

“The UN Secretary-General needs to free himself of the parameters and framework set in the 1960s for a federal settlement. There is no common ground, only a new vision in Cyprus. That vision favours a two-state solution based on sovereign equality,” he said.

Tatar stressed that the Turkish Cypriot side’s position was clear and what Anastasiades proposed was his concern only.

He reminded that the consent of both sides was needed for a solution in Cyprus.

“The solution model we will give consent to is as I put it. I have no plans to change my position,” he said.