President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday condemnation from Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot ‘government’ of the EU parliament report was “nothing new,” while he said the government holds “particularly dear” the support for Cyprus talks expressed in the report.
Christodoulides said he “holds it particularly dear that the European parliament supports our own effort for more active involvement of the EU in all stages [regarding the Cyprus problem] and in the breaking of the impasse, but also in the resumption of the talks.”
He also called on Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot leadership to “respond positively to what the European Parliament is asking for, to end the deadlock, and restart talks to resolve the Cyprus problem.”
In a separate statement, the Cypriot government expressed its “satisfaction” with the adoption of the amendment to the report tabled by Cypriot European Parliament members, which added a paragraph condemning Turkish violations of the United Nations buffer zone and attacks on peacekeepers in Pyla.
The government added that it “attaches particular importance to … the call for more active involvement of the EU in the effort to end the deadlock [regarding the Cyprus problem].”
They described it as “a basic and central element undertaken by the president which can play a decisive role in the efforts to restart negotiations.”
They added their satisfaction with the report’s reaffirmation of the European Parliament’s support for a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality as a solution to the Cyprus problem, and with the call for negotiations to continue where they left off in Crans-Montana in 2017.
“Turkey’s European course cannot be limited to verbal declarations. If indeed the will to make this course is sincere, Turkey should put into practice what it preaches, respect European principles and values and the resolutions and decisions of the EU and its institutions,” they said.
Cypriot European Parliament members were slightly less enthusiastic about the report, with both Giorgos Georgiou and Loucas Fourlas telling radio interviews that the decision to call for an end to Turkish EU accession negotiations is a mistake.
They both agreed that the current status quo of EU-Turkey relations offers no incentive for Turkey to “respect international law and make tangible progress on the Cyprus problem.”
Meanwhile, Turkey’s foreign ministry said the report was “full of unfair accusations and prejudices based on disinformation from anti-Turkey circles” and “a reflection of the European Parliament’s usual shallow and visionless approach towards both relations with our country and the future of the EU.”
They also accused European Parliament members of being “captives of daily populist politics.”
Additionally, they said the report “reflects the one-sided views of certain circles on the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean, and Cyprus issues and [is] disconnected from historical and legal realities.”
They also reaffirmed their commitment to joining the EU in the future, saying “our country has the potential to make the EU a global power in the face of all current challenges, especially security, energy, climate change, migration, trade diversification and economic challenges.”
The north’s ‘foreign ministry’ agreed with Turkey, saying the European Parliament “continued its biased attitude towards Cyprus.”
It added that the report “is far from the realities of the island, ignores the existence and inherent rights of the Turkish Cypriot people, and completely reflects [the opinions of] the Greek Cypriot side.”
“As long as the European Parliament insists on continuing its wrong and biased attitude regarding the Cyprus problem and the two sides of Cyprus, such reports and decisions … are null and void for us,” they said.
They added, “insisting on the tried and proven unsuccessful federal model and taking an approach which blames Turkey instead of the Greek Cypriot leadership, which is solely responsible for the collapse of the latest negotiation process … in Crans Montana, is a sign of the European Parliament’s disconnection from the realities on the island and its blindly pro-Greek Cypriot attitude.”
In addition, they said the EU has “created a comfort zone for the Greek Cypriot side” and that the report “will make a possible compromise between the island’s two sides even more difficult.”
They also said the European Parliament is “acting as the spokesperson of the Greek Cypriots by ignoring the efforts and calls of the Turkish Cypriot sides … on issues such as missing persons, education, and cultural heritage in its report.”
They added that if the European Parliament “wishes to be constructive on the Cyprus issue, it should abandon its attitude of ignoring the realities of the island and defend the sovereign equality and equal rights of the Turkish Cypriots.”
Christodoulides offered his own reaction to the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot statements, saying “these are the well-known reactions we hear from Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot community, they are nothing new.”
He also mentioned that he will begin his journey to New York for the UN General Assembly on Friday, first travelling to Athens and then onwards to the United States.
“You realise the importance I attach to the contacts that will be made there. What interests me most is to create the conditions that will lead to the resumption of talks,” he said.