'No New Negotiations At Geneva Talks On Cyprus'

Turkey's foreign minister on Friday reaffirmed that the upcoming Geneva talks on the Cyprus issue will be an informal one.

"The meeting in Geneva will be informal. There will be no new negotiations to be held there," Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint news conference with Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus President Ersin Tatar.

Cavusoglu had arrived in the Northern Cyprus' capital Lefkosa on late Thursday. His visit aims to "defend together our national cause with a new vision," according to his Twitter post.

The Turkish foreign minister held meetings throughout Friday ahead of an informal 5+1 meeting on Cyprus that is planned to be held on April 27-29 in Geneva under the auspices of the UN.

"We believe that we will no longer waste time on the federal solution and that new ideas and new vision should be discussed," he said.

Also on Twitter, the Turkish minister said: "Federal solution has been negotiated for 53 years without any result. Turkish Cypriot side promotes two State solution and cooperation based on sovereign equality. Turkey will always continue to support TRNC."

For his part, Tatar said: "Our [TRNC's] sovereignty, independence and Turkey's guarantor position are indispensable matters at Geneva talks.

Cyprus has been mired in a decades-long struggle between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots, despite a series of diplomatic efforts by the UN to achieve a comprehensive settlement.

The island has been divided since 1964, when ethnic attacks forced Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety. In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece's annexation led to Turkey's military intervention as a guarantor power. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) was founded in 1983.

The Greek Cypriot administration, backed by Greece, became a member of the EU in 2004, although most Greek Cypriots rejected a UN settlement plan in a referendum that year, which had envisaged a reunited Cyprus joining the European Union.

Regarding a court ruling on the closure of Quran courses in the TRNC, Cavusoglu told the news conference the decision was an "ideological" one, adding: "The decision was not given in line with the constitution or its provisions."

Tatar, for his part, expressed "discomfort" over the decision and said the reasoned decision is yet to be announced and that he is waiting for that decision.

"There could never be an instance of closing the Quran courses in the TRNC. I want to stress this right here," he added. -