Two-state solution would be ‘catastrophic’, Kombos says

In his interview, Kombos also sought to send a message to the Turkish Cypriots, saying that Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar and Ankara’s two-state position goes against their interests, as it implies that they automatically lose their European citizenship and the multiple benefits that come with it.

Commenting on the attendance of Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan at the informal Foreign Affairs Council to be held next Thursday, Kombos was asked about Nicosia’s desirable outcome.

In response to a question about UN efforts to sound the two sides out about a trilateral meeting in August, Kombos replied that this was examined by the UN more than once and “the side that was immediately and repeatedly positive was our side.

“The side that turned out to be negative was the Turkish side.”

Asked how the government is proceeding on the Cyprus problem, Kombos stated that the efforts by the UN Secretary General were not terminated, noting that “our side remains positive.” 

He added that the reference point now is the UN General Assembly. Within this timeframe, he continued, between now and the General Assembly meeting, possibly the Secretary-General will come back on this issue. “But we should not forget that last year we had a similar attempt by the Secretary-General at the UN General Assembly which was not accepted – again – by the other side,” he said, referring to UN efforts to bring the two sides together at a joint meeting.

Asked to send a message to the Turkish Cypriots, the foreign minister said that “we believe that what will be particularly beneficial for all Cypriots is to reach an agreed solution within the framework set by the United Nations Security Council”.

He underlined that the two-state approach is catastrophic “with disastrous results for all of us, including Turkish Cypriots” because, he explained, it means that they automatically lose their European citizenship and the multiple benefits that go with it.

Source: Cyprus Mail