'Unfair EU stance on Turkish Cypriots blocks solution'

ANKARA

The Turkish Cypriot premier on Friday said there is no way the EU can help solve the Cyprus issue as long as it maintains its unfair stance towards the Turkish Cypriots.

In a written statement issued by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) National Unity Party (NUP), Ersan Saner commented on this week’s summit of EU leaders which dealt with Turkey and Cyprus, calling the bloc the top international organization blocking resolution of the Cyprus issue with its mistaken decisions.

Stressing that at the two-day summit the EU ignored modern values such as human rights, the law, and justice along with historical facts, Saner said the EU approached the Cyprus issue in line with policies imposed by Athens and the Greek Cypriot administration.

The EU has no right to interfere in agreements between Turkey and the TRNC over the continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ), said Saner, referring to Turkey and the TRNC claiming their legitimate maritime rights in the Eastern Mediterranean.

He added that the TRNC will not give up on its legitimate rights but instead will continue to defend them with help of "motherland" Turkey, underlining that drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean will continue when the time and place are right.

If the EU truly wants to contribute to the Cyprus issue, it must acknowledge that the Turkish Cypriots have the same rights as the Greek Cypriots and established their own sovereign state after they were pushed out of the Republic of Cyprus due to the armed attacks of Greek Cypriots, said Saner.

Years of talks over a federation went nowhere, as the Greek Cypriots sought to return to the "dark days" prior to 1974, he added.

On Cyprus, ethnic attacks starting in the early 1960s forced the Turkish Cypriots to withdraw into enclaves for their safety.

In 1974, a Greek Cypriot coup aiming at Greece’s annexation led to Turkey’s military intervention as a guarantor power to protect Turkish Cypriots from persecution and violence.

The TRNC was founded in 1983.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas