Pyla deal should not give Turkey competitive edge, president says

The buffer zone should not be doubted nor should it give Turkey a competitive advantage, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Tuesday, over the spat that emerged in Pyla last month.

“Efforts are underway but there is no deal yet,” he told reporters.

“What I can say is that our goal is to ensure there is no doubt over the buffer stone in the way it was determined since 1974 or creating any competitive advantage for Turkey.”

Asked to comment about the meeting between the Greek and Turkish foreign ministers, Christodoulides said he had not yet been briefed on how it went but this would happen soon.

He added any improvement in Greco-Turkish relations “would help our efforts to restart talks and resolve the Cyprus problem.”

Last month, UN soldiers in Pyla were attacked by Turkish Cypriot military and police, as authorities in the north sought to go ahead with unauthorised plans to construct a road through the buffer zone between Pyla and Arsos.

On Friday, reports surfaced that a solution was found over the dispute that was “one step from ratification”.

It includes greenlighting the road construction, while a plan will be devised for the development of the village. This plan will include upgrading housing and agriculture in the area surrounding the village, as far north as Pergamos.