Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of the UN General Assem...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York Wednesday that any Cyprus settlement must guarantee the "sovereign equality and equal international status" of Turkish Cypriots, according to Turkey's presidential communications directorate. Erdogan made clear that no proposed formula would produce results unless it met that condition. He made virtually the same demand during his UN General Assembly address Tuesday, where he also called on the international community to formally recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and end what he called the "inhumane isolation" of Turkish Cypriots. The Erdogan-Burnham meeting is part of a burst of diplomatic activity in New York centered on Cyprus. Burnham also met with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, who said Monday that "behind-the-scenes" meetings this week could open the door to concrete developments on the Cyprus problem, without specifying what those might be. Despite that cautious optimism, no real progress has been made since UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Cyprus in July and promised to convene an enlarged conference involving both sides, the three guarantor powers, and the UN once sufficient preparation is done. Christodoulides and Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman have met three times since July with no breakthrough, and the two sides remain openly divided over political equality, crossing points, and how talks should be structured. Erhurman said this week that he wants a five-plus-one conference where success is prepared in advance through talks in Nicosia, arguing the process this time must avoid the failures of Crans-Montana in 2017. Separately, Erdogan told Burnham that Turkey-UK relations are strengthening across defense, trade, and other sectors. He also said Israel has shown through its actions that it does not want peace in Gaza or the West Bank, and suggested that the stalled Ukraine and Iran negotiations could gain momentum if an agreement is reached over the Strait of Hormuz. #Cyprus #Erdogan #CyprusProblem