LEFKOSA, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has objected to parts of the recently released EU report on Turkey’s accession process and urged EU to back its ongoing talks to resolve the Cyprus issue.
The Turkish Cypriot Foreign Ministry said in a statement Friday that some paragraphs in the EU report dealing with the Cyprus issue did not back the current positive environment in the island.
It urged the international community to back the negotiations, which resumed May 15 after a pause last October, between Turkish Cypriots in the north and Greek Cypriots in the south to find a way to settle the decades-long conflict over the disputed island.
"It is important that the European Union makes its support to the process fair and balanced so that it progresses in a good way," the statement said.
"Our expectation from European Union is ... to take constructive steps to encourage the leaders during the negotiation process," the statement said.
The ministry also noted that the EU report had termed the recent election of Mustafa Akinci as Turkish Cypriot president a “new window of opportunity”.
"We will continue to demand the right of representation for Turkish Cypriots in the presence of EU," it added.
Regarding the Cyprus issue, the European Parliament had called on Turkey in its report to begin withdrawing its troops and transfer the abandoned resort city of Maras (Varosha) to the United Nations.
On May 28, Turkish Cypriot President Mustafa Akinci and Greek Cypriot leader Nicos Anastasiades met at the UN's Good Office on the island, hosted by UN Special Adviser for Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide. During their talks, Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot leaders had agreed on a five-step plan to resolve the Cyprus issue.
The steps included opening more crossing points, interconnecting the power grids, allowing mobile phone interoperability on both sides of the island, resolving the issue of radio frequency conflicts, and forming a joint committee on gender equality on Cyprus.
Political tensions in the long-divided island have eased since full-fledged talks resumed on May 15.
The Greek Cypriot administration had unilaterally suspended the talks last October after Turkey issued an advisory on behalf of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus for seismic research off the coast of Cyprus.
The island was divided into a Turkish Cypriot government in the northern third and a Greek Cypriot administration in the southern two-thirds after a 1974 military coup by Greece was followed by a peace operation by Turkey as a guarantor state in Cyprus.
