Minister Ertuğruloğlu lambasts EU officials
FOREIGN Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu has slammed the European Union after a spokesman for the European Commission said that President Ersin Tatar could meet people as a “community leader” but that international relations were the remit of the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cyprus”.
The EU comments were made following a meeting between Mr Tatar and the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, last week.
In a statement, Mr Ertuğruloğlu slammed the EU, saying that it has “no other purpose than to continue its unconditional support to the Greek Cypriot
Administration, which it has made a member by violating its own principles”.
Mr Ertuğruloğlu added that this was a “wrong policy” which shows that the EU “prefers to preserve the status quo that serves the Greek Cypriot Administration instead of participating constructively in the efforts to reach an acceptable and realistic agreement on the island”.
Making specific reference to the spokesman’s remarks on the meeting between Presidents Tatar and Aliyev, that Mr Tatar is a “community leader”, Mr Ertuğruloğlu said that they “overlap” with the views of South Cyprus and that the EU “does not see the Turkish Cypriot people on par with the Greek people”.
Continuing, Mr Ertuğruloğlu said that “it is clear” that the EU “does not hesitate to violate the most basic human rights of the Turkish Cypriot people at the request of the Greek Cypriot Administration”
Mr Ertuğruloğlu then criticised the financial aid which the EU sends to the Turkish Cypriots, labelling it as “blackmail” and claiming that the EU “has no intention of making a sincere contribution to the socio-economic development of the Turkish Cypriot people”.
He added that the funds were sent in order to “impose the federation model on our people”, and said that a federal solution to the Cyprus problem was “part of the past for the Turkish Cypriot people”.
Mr Ertuğruloğlu closed his statement by reaffirming his commitment to a twostate solution to the Cyprus problem.