Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman has pointed to an excerpt from a recent interview by the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, María Ángela Holguín, on the convergences document. He was commenting on reports by Greek Cypriot media about the Turkish Cypriot side's stance on the document.
"A new phase"
In a post after midnight, Mr Erhürman said that as a rule he tries not to respond to such reports, especially late at night, "but it seems we have entered a new phase". He said he wanted to pre-empt questions he might be asked.
In fact, he wrote, this is not a response, but rather information he is providing.
He referred to Ms Holguín's interview with ANKA and Yusuf Kanlı, published on 28 September. In it, she was asked whether the UN had completed its review of the previous convergences, whether the same single document would be given to both sides, and how the UN would prevent selective interpretation of it that could lead to a new dispute.
Holguín: the 2015-2017 joint documents
Mr Erhürman quoted Ms Holguín's answer in full: "The convergences are a single body of work based on joint documents submitted to the UN by both sides between 2015 and 2017. The UN has also examined other documents in its archives that reflect previous efforts. The closest document to a record of the convergences is precisely the joint documents of the 2015-2017 period."
"The document will be submitted when negotiations begin"
Ms Holguín continued, as Mr Erhürman noted: "It is difficult to prevent a new dispute from emerging in Cyprus. Unfortunately, there is always a reason to keep a dispute open. I understand that. People often tell me that things have always been done this way. But perhaps we should consider this: if everything has always been done this way, that may be precisely why not much progress has been made so far."
"Therefore, the document will be submitted when negotiations begin. Submitting it earlier would open a new point of dispute," she said.
Source: CNA
