Ankara wants ‘to try new way’ to resolve Cyprus issue

Turkey believes that “it is time to try a new way” to resolve the decades-long Cyprus division, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hami Aksoy said on Thursday, commenting on the prospects of a resumption of negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations.

Aksoy didn’t provide details on what this “new way” could be; however, he stated that unifying the island as a federation may not be possible based on the “mind-set” of Greek Cypriots.

He described talks between the two sides as a process that has continued for 50 years. “However, it has become a vicious cycle and no outcome has been achieved,” he said.

Aksoy was essentially following the line of Turkish-Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci, who accused Greek Cypriots of invoking “nonexistent” documents, namely that dated July 4, 2017, which describes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s framework for the talks.