Foreign Ministry blasts Kasoulides
THE Foreign Ministry has released a statement branding remarks made by the Greek Cypriot foreign minister Ioannis Kasoulides about Turkey during a meeting with his Serbian counterpart Nikola Selakovic as “unacceptable”.
The statement was issued after Mr Kasoulides spoke of “provocations” on the part of Turkey in Maraş and regarding gas exploration and drilling in the seas around the island of Cyprus.
The ministry wrote in its statement that “the only reason for the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean is the unilateral activities carried out by the Greek Cypriot administration” and that the TRNC and Turkey “are taking and will continue to take equivalent steps against these unilateral actions in order to protect their legitimate rights and interests”.
The ministry wrote that “we would like to remind Mr Kasoulides that Maraş is the territory of the TRNC and the decision-making authority regarding this land belongs to the TRNC”.
Turning their attention to the Serbian Foreign Minister’s presence in Cyprus, the Foreign Ministry stated that “there is no moral value in the
Serbian Foreign Minister’s denial of the existence of the Turkish Cypriot People by only meeting with the Greek Cypriot Foreign Minister and supporting the known views of the Greek Cypriot side on the Cyprus issue”.
The statement added that “we hope that [Mr Selakovic] is aware of the fact that all the negotiation processes carried out within the framework of the United Nations parameters have been repeatedly rejected by the Greek Cypriot side and that the negotiation processes on this ground have now come to an end” before stressing the need for a solution “based on the sovereign equality of the two States on the island and their equal international status”.