In the grand halls of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum, that famous void—skillfully woven by diplomatic language—made itself visible once again... Everyone in Cyprus speaks of a solution, yet no one dares to name it.
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Let’s start with Turkish President Erdoğan.
Following his meeting with Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman, he spoke at a dinner hosted in honor of the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
He said exactly this:
“The time has long since come to reach a fair, lasting, and sustainable solution to the Cyprus issue, which has been on our agenda since 1963.”
“How beautifully put,” we thought.
Of course, the tone of his speech at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum shifted slightly...
“We would like to see the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean as a basin of stability and prosperity. Just as we reject unilateral and maximalist stances that seek to exclude Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, we also do not approve of futile efforts that pin their hopes on a war-torn environment. The resolute stance of the Turkish Cypriots has now proven to the entire world the reality that there are two distinct peoples and two separate states on the island of Cyprus.”
This tone, if read optimistically, could certainly be seen as the flexibility needed to create opportunities for a new diplomacy...
He neither slammed the doors shut by declaring “the federation is dead” nor presented the “two-state solution” formula—as in the Tatar era—as a final, imposed demand on the table.
As I said, if we were to read it “optimistically”…
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Cypriot Turkish leader Tufan Erhürman also spoke at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum… He was on stage in his capacity as “President of the TRNC” and repeated what he had said during the election campaign.
He opened his remarks with a quote from classical Turkish literature; with his powerful narrative and mastery of language, he likely captivated millions.
Professor Erhürman also didn’t say “federal solution”… just as Erdoğan didn’t directly say “two-state solution”…
Oh, we can also read it this way: Professor Erhürman pointed to “federation” through the lens of “political equality”, while Erdoğan signaled “confederation” through the rhetoric of “two separate states, two separate peoples.”
Still, no one has put a name to the solution.
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The Greek Cypriot leadership also frequently speaks of a “desire for a solution” in Cyprus…
But they aren’t offering any new flexibility on issues like security, power-sharing, and property.
The parties point to the ‘solution’ as a goal but are charting different paths.
That’s why there are “talks”… But there is no “negotiation.”
The heaviest cost of this deadlock is borne by a constant subject: Turkish Cypriots.
The solution may have no name, but the name of dissolution remains as Turkish Cypriots. This is a dissolution felt across every sphere—from demographic structure to the economy, from democratic will to the deep uncertainty regarding the future…
From the perspective of Turkish Cypriots, the situation has not changed.
Once again, the same choice lies before them...
Either a solution… Or, annexation…
Either Cyprus will unite—based on political equality and citizenship rights, through a stronger federal formula with loosely centralized constituent states—or the northern part of the island will gradually join Turkey, under the guise of what is called the “TRNC”!
A footnote... Sıla Usar İncirli, Chairperson of the Republican Turkish Party (CTP), met with Rosemary Di Carlo, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, as part of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum... “CTP reiterated its goal of a federation-based solution in Cyprus in Antalya...”
This article was originally published on 20.04.2026
Source: THE SOLUTION HAS NO ‘NAME’!
