No new negotiations at Geneva talks on Cyprus: FM Çavuşoğlu

Turkey's foreign minister on April 16 reaffirmed that the upcoming Geneva talks on the Cyprus issue will be an informal one.

"The meeting in Geneva will be informal. There will be no new negotiations to be held there," Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at a joint news conference with Ersin Tatar, president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Çavuşoğlu arrived in Northern Cyprus' capital Lefkoşa late Thursday. His visit aims to "defend together our national cause with a new vision," he said on Twitter.

The Turkish foreign minister held meetings throughout Friday ahead of an informal 5+1 meeting on Cyprus that is planned to be held on April 27-29 in Geneva under the auspices of the U.N.

"We believe that we will no longer waste time on the federal solution and that new ideas and new vision should be discussed," he said.

Çavuşoğlu reminded Turkey's "win-win" approach for a "just, permanent and sustainable" framework and vision to the long-disputed island of Cyprus.

The Geneva talks will seek a common ground for negotiations, Çavuşoğlu said, adding: "We definitely and certainly will not continue where we left off at Crans-Montana [talks]. This is out of the question."

The 2017 Crans-Montana conference in Switzerland held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. - ended in failure.


The top diplomat further stressed Turkey's solidarity with the TRNC "at any cost," saying: "The safety and welfare of Turkish Cypriot people are of Turkish people."

EU position on Cyprus dispute

On the EU position in the Cyprus dispute, Çavuşoğlu stated that the bloc completely ignores the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriot people on issues such as income sharing and...