AKEL on European Council’s final conclusions
AKEL C.C. Press Office, 24th March 2018, Nicosia
We welcome the fact that the European Council in its conclusions denounces Turkey’s continuing illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean and expresses solidarity with Cyprus and Greece. The Council calls on Turkey to put an end to these actions and to respect the sovereign rights of Cyprus to explore and exploit its natural resources. It also reiterates the October 2014 Conclusions and September 2005 Declaration, recalling Turkey’s obligation to normalize its relations with the Republic of Cyprus and that it will continue to follow these issues. All these are positive elements which must be utilized.
At the same time, however, we are concerned by the fact that the European Council chose to condemn, in general and vague terms, Turkey’s illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean, avoiding any reference that Turkey’s recent illegal actions took place within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus in a delimited area and licensed plot, indeed in a section of the Cypriot EEZ which is not part of what Turkey is unlawfully asserting on its behalf.
Lastly, we cannot overlook the fact that, despite the fact that the references to previous Conclusions on the normalization of Turkey’s relations with the Republic of Cyprus are repeated, the same thing isn’t the case with previous references to the necessity for progress on the Cyprus problem and the need for Turkey to support the negotiations in practice. In a period characterized by a negotiation void and a consequent weakening of the prospects for a solution of our political problem, which if it were to be achieved will also solve the natural gas issues, the absence of any reference to the Cyprus problem cannot and must not go unremarked. In connection with this issue, the government spokesman’s statement that in the conclusions “we got everything we asked for” raises valid questions.
