Turkish Cypriots elect new leader, reigniting hopes for renewed talks to heal Cyprus’ ethnic split

NICOSIA AP Hopes for a resumption of long-stalled talks to heal Cyprus decades-old ethnic rift were buoyed Sunday when Turkish Cypriots elected a leader who campaigned on getting back to negotiating a two-zone federation with rival Greek Cypriots after an eight-year stalemate Tufan Erhurman won by a landslide receiving of the vote against incumbent Ersin Tatar s according to unofficial figures broadcast on BRT TV Nearly of registered voters cast ballots At a accomplishment rally in front of thousands of jubilant supporters Erhurman revealed the voting process was a domination for all Turkish Cypriots irrespective of party affiliation and noted that any attempts forward on reviving Cyprus peace efforts would be in consultation with the Turkish regime as has been done in the past Turkish Cypriots turned away from Tatar s vision for a two-state deal in Cyprus that Turkey has championed since when the last major push to resolve the dispute collapsed amid much acrimony Erhurman had harshly criticized Tatar s reluctance to engage in formal peace talks all through his five-year term as a costly loss of time that has alienated Turkish Cypriots from the European Union and pushed them farther on the international periphery Nikos Christodoulides the island s Greek Cypriot president declared in a congratulatory message that he looks forward to meeting Erhurman the earliest feasible and reiterated his readiness to resume peace talks Cyprus was as divided in when Turkey invaded days after Greek junta-backed supporters of union with Greece mounted a coup Only Turkey recognizes a Turkish Cypriot declaration of independence and maintains more than troops in the north Cyprus joined the European Union in but only the Greek Cypriot south where the internationally recognized executive is seated enjoys full benefits A multitude of Turkish Cypriots hold EU-recognized Cyprus passports but live in the north The stakes for a Cyprus peace deal are key Peace could expedite the exploitation of sizable natural gas deposits that lie in waters off Cyprus southern coast that could power Egypt and Europe It would also potentially lift Turkish objections to an electricity cable project that would connect Greece and Cyprus Israel is mentioned to look favorably on extending that link to its own power grid Even though vote product bodes well for a U N -backed push to restart formal negotiations important challenges to reaching a peace deal remain Turkey s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made clear in his address to the General Assembly last month that he backs a two-state deal on Cyprus Congratulating Erhurman for his preeminence Sunday Erdogan stated Turkey could continue defending the sovereign rights and interests of the breakaway Turkish Cypriots It s unclear if Erhurman has the clout to deviate from this line given the north s economic and political dependence on Turkey Erhurman has rejected asserts that he would seek to abolish Turkey s military intervention rights in place under any peace agreement Greek Cypriots see any such rights enshrined in a deal as a threat to their own safety Greek Cypriot agents announced the dealbreaker in the talks was Turkey s insistence keeping its right to intervene as well as its troops indefinitely on the island While the minority Turkish Cypriots say a Turkish military presence is necessary for their protection Greek Cypriots interpret this as Ankara s means to assert its control over the entire island Erhurman says political equality for Turkish Cypriots is non-negotiable The obscure term is interpreted differently by either side but Greek Cypriots say a demand by the minority Turkish Cypriots for veto powers over all decisions taken at the federal level is unfair The new Turkish Cypriot leader insists Turkish Cypriots shouldn t bear the brunt of another achievable talks failure alluding to the prospect of the international locality engaging directly with the breakaway north through air connectivity and transaction if a new round of negotiations collapse Greek Cypriots have argued that setting such a condition on the talks would disincentivize any search for a fair deal Source