Speaking at a workshop on the Eastern Mediterranean hosted by the International Council of Universities and Akdeniz University in Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated that the Greek Cypriot side and Greece made agreements with Egypt, Lebanon and Israel between 2003 and 2011 by ignoring the rights of the Turkish Cypriots and Turkey.
Responding to the question ‘What do you think about the UN meeting on the agenda which is an effort for solving the Cyprus Problem?’ Çavuşoğlu said ‘We are in favour of fair sharing. It has been 50 years that the federation has been on the negotiation table however it was the Greek Cypriot side that rejected the Annan Plan as a result of the opposition campaigns.’
Pointing out that Cyprus has strategic importance for the region’s stability, Çavuşoğlu stressed “The Greek Cypriot side does not want to share anything with the Turkish Cypriots. In respect of the hydrocarbon issue, the Greek Cypriots also took steps backwards in Crans-Montana regarding rotating presidency and power sharing. They still ignore the political equality of the Turkish Cypriots in the negotiations”.
Minister Çavuşoğlu also underlined ‘Will this problem continue for a life time? It should not. What is the point of negotiating for a federal settlement for 50 more years? There is no point. It is the Greek Cypriot side which is benefitting from this and the Turkish Cypriot people are being punished. That is why we need to solve this problem as soon as possible.’
Source: TRNC Public Information Office
