ANKARA
The European Parliament’s recent resolution calling for the removal of Turkish warships off coast of the island of Cyprus is completely unacceptable to Turkey, Cemil Cicek, speaker of the Turkish parliament, said Monday.
Cicek made the remarks in a letter to European Parliament President Martin Schulz.
The European Parliament in a resolution on Nov. 13 "demands Turkish vessels operating in waters in and around the EZZ (so- called Exclusive Economic Zone) of Cyprus to be withdrawn immediately."
“The rights to natural resources found on the island are equal and indisputable for the Turkish Cypriots, which the Greek Cypriots and the international community should accept this,” Cicek said.
A dispute between Turkey and the Greek-Cypriot administration over the divided island of Cyprus on Dec. 11, 2006 prompted the EU to freeze eight policy areas, or "chapters," in Turkey's accession negotiations into the 28-nation bloc.
The Greek-Cypriot administration suspended the most recent talks over the island's future on Oct. 7 after Turkey sent the seismic research vessel Barbaros Hayrettin to monitor an oil-and-gas exploration mission off the Cyprus coast.
Cicek emphasized it was important to make a joint decision regarding the use of natural gas and oil resources in offshore areas.
"I want to say that the European Parliament’s resolution is completely unacceptable," Cicek said. "We hope the European Parliament will contribute to the solution of the dispute," he added.
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