Solution to Cyprus problem would resolve property issues

The solution to the usurpation of properties in the north lies “in resolving the Cyprus problem,” President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday.

“My message to our Turkish Cypriot compatriots, and Turkey, is not a threat. It is an invitation: if there is political will, come to the negotiating table so the Cyprus problem can be resolved and these illegalities, which have persisted for 51 years, can be addressed,” he said.

The government is reportedly preparing a new phase of prosecutions targeting individuals and companies allegedly involved in the exploitation of Greek Cypriot properties in the north.

While some high-profile convictions, such as that of Simon Aykut, have been secured, others, including the recent Jafari case in France, have thwarted government attempts to prosecute.

The crackdown has reportedly slowed real estate activity in the north, with foreign nationals selling properties amid fears of arrest upon entering EU territory.

Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhurman has condemned the Republic’s planned prosecutions, describing them as counterproductive to a solution.

He stressed that the Turkish Cypriot community “also has legal avenues and strategic initiatives to pursue”, including international actions regarding property rights.

When asked about Erhurman’s remarks that the north holds files on alleged “usurpations of property of Turkish Cypriots” in government-controlled areas, Christodoulides said these illegalities, under international law, can “only be addressed through a negotiated settlement”.

Erhurman added that efforts to force compliance through “arrests, threats or economic pressure” would achieve nothing and that “peace must be built gradually alongside any negotiated solution”.

Turkish Cypriot ‘prime minister’ Unan Ustel further accused the Republic of carrying out “illegal and hostile” moves with politically motivated prosecutions.

He argued that the actions targeting properties aim to place “economic pressure on the Turkish Cypriot community” while disregarding “international law”.

Ustel cited the recent release in France of Jafari, an Iranian citizen wanted by Cyprus, as evidence of a ‘weak legal basis’.

“This decision clearly shows how problematic and unfounded the process that the Greek Cypriot side is conducting on international platforms,” he said, criticising attempts to bypass the Immovable Properties Commission as a supposedly effective domestic remedy.

Ustel warned that the Republic’s approach “further poisons the already fragile climate in Cyprus, undermines hopes for a solution and irreparably damages the trust between the two peoples.”

He pledged that, “in full cooperation with Turkey, all necessary political, legal and diplomatic steps would be taken to safeguard the rights of citizens and investors” in the north.

He urged the Republic of Cyprus to “immediately abandon these dangerous policies that escalate tension.”

Despite these objections, the government maintains that prosecutions are necessary to enforce the rule of law and protect property rights, against those exploiting Greek Cypriot properties.