Turkey's Foreign Minister says he is willing to listen to fresh proposals to end the divide between the island's Greek and Turkish communities.
ADVERTISEMENTTurkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavosuglu says it is time to consider alternative solutions to the Cyprus issue beyond the bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.
In an interview in Cyprus’s Politis newspaper, Cavusoglu expresses Turkey’s readiness to discuss other solutions, such as a confederation or two separate states.
The Turkish Cypriots are opposed to any solution where they would not rule a Federation as co-equals and be entirely responsible for their own territory, but Cavosuglu said this was just the opinion of their leader, Mustafa Akinci.
He added that the stalemates of the 2004 Annan Plan and 2017's talks in Switzerland prove federation is a "failed solution".
Since the mid 1970s the island has been divided, but now it is in everyone's interests to resolve the question, as great wealth for everyone lies offshore in the form of gas deposits, but no-one will be able to exploit them until the two communities come to an agreement.