EU just trying to ‘please’ the Greek Cypriot side

THE TRNC’s Foreign Ministry has accused EU ministers of discussing Maraş at their latest meeting “with the sole aim of pleasing the Greek Cypriot side”.

On Monday members of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council met in Luxembourg to discuss a series of pressing issues, such as the “crisis in Afghanistan”, the situation in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, and “Belarus and the issue of migrants being pushed towards the border of the EU”, according to a European Council statement.

During the meeting foreign ministers of EU states were also “informed about the latest developments around Varosha [Maraş], and expressed strong solidarity with Greece and Cyprus over the Turkish interventions against vessels operating in their exclusive economic zones”

In response, the Foreign Ministry said in a written statement: “Despite the fact that there exist so many other urgent matters which could have been on the agenda of the Council, the EU has opted to include the issues of the fenced-off area of Maraş and the Eastern Mediterranean within the agenda items with the sole aim of pleasing the Greek Cypriot side.

“The biased attitude of the EU under the guise of ‘membership solidarity’ serves no purpose but to deepen the Turkish Cypriot people’s mistrust towards the EU.

“The constructive proposals of the Turkish Cypriot side remain on the table. In this context, our decision regarding the fenced-off area of Maraş/Varosha, which respects the private property rights; as well as our proposal dated 13 July 2019, which aims to establish cooperation in the Eastern Mediterranean, are unfortunately disregarded by the EU.”