Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (21.03.14) reports that Osman Ertug, Turkish Cypriot leader’s advisor on diplomatic affairs and spokesperson, has argued that the solution is closer today than yesterday, but time and the course of the negotiating process will show the result. Ertug gave a lecture yesterday at the illegal Near East University (“YDU”) under the title “The Cyprus Negotiations in their 50th Year and the Solution Possibilities”.
Ertug referred to the property issue and said that it should intensively be discussed in the negotiations and we should say that “some give and take” will happen. He alleged that the users, who have created some development on the properties, should be taken into consideration and added that they exert efforts in this direction on the negotiating table. He said that “new conditions” have been created as regards the properties both in the occupied north and the government-controlled south area of Cyprus during the last 40 years and alleged that the solution should be in a manner that will influence negatively to the minimum extentthese [conditions].

Ertug claimed that people are worried about what will happen with their houses and whether they will move again to another place. He said that they do not want to abandon their places again and live under Greek Cypriot administration.

Ertug argued that the Greek Cypriot side wants a great deal of territory and submitted a proposal that takes into consideration the percentage of population of the communities, noting that the Greek Cypriots consider the population of the Turkish Cypriot side to be 18%-20% [of the island’s total population] and asks for a population census.