Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdağ said that Turkey and Turkish Cyprus will soon start unification talks after Turkish Cypriots recently hinted at the possibility in the wake of failed Cyprus talks according to Turkish press .
In an interview published on Monday with the Turkish Milliyet daily, Akdağ said: “Turkey and Turkish Cyprus will henceforth decide on a political solution.”
Turkish Cypriots have two options, to be recognized or unify with Turkey, saying: “It is now time to start to work to be recognized in the international area. Turkish Cypriots are also assessing a second option, which is establishing an autonomous state under Turkey similar to the France-Monaco and England-Gibraltar models.”
Akdağ said that negotiations would be shaped according to this.
Following the failure of Cyprus reunification talks, Ertuğruloğlu a Turkish Cypriot spokesman said in early October that Turkish Cypriots conveyed a message to the U.N. that if there are negotiations on the Cyprus issue in the forthcoming period, it will only work if they are state-to-state negotiations, adding that in case of negotiations, Turkish Cypriots will not negotiate anything except for a “confederation model.”
Akdağ also touched on Turkey’s water delivery to the Turkish occupied north of Cyprus saying that the delivery of water t will continue without a cut off. Akdağ said that Turkish Cypriot citizens warmly thanked Turkey. He also said that Turkey has been delivering 75 million cubic meters of water, 35 million of which is consumed by Turkish Cypriots while the remaining part is used in irrigation.
Talks aimed at ending the four-decade Cyprus conflict closed without reaching an agreement, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on July 7, after a stormy final session of talks that ran into the early hours.
The U.N. is seeking a peace deal to reunite Cyprus under a federal umbrella that could also define the future of Europe’s relations with Turkey, a key player in the conflict.