Turkey is trying to impose its hegemonic aspirations
9 September 2020 Dialogos web site
AKEL Member of Parliament Yiorgos Loucaides, member of the Cypriot delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) referred to the current developments in the Eastern Mediterranean region, during his intervention in yesterday’s teleconference in a session of the Assembly’s Committee on Political Affairs and Democracy.
According to a statement released by the Parliament, in his capacity as Chairman of the PACE Subcommittee on the Middle East and the Arab World, Yiorgos Loucaides stressed the need to reactivate the Middle East peace process, which should be based on internationally recognized rules and with the participation of both sides. He pointed out that despite the fact that Israel has so far not proceeded to annex additional Palestinian territories, as provided for in the US President’s “Deal of the Century”, the situation remains particularly fragile.
On the issue of Libya, Y. Loucaides said that the discernable possibility of the collapse of the ceasefire concluded on 21st August, as well as the conflicting interests of third countries, are making the achievement of a political solution difficult and probably render the goal of peace and security in the wider region unfeasible, with consequences for Europe itself. Turkey’s illegal actions in the Eastern Mediterranean are increasing further tension and instability in the region, the Cypriot MP noted.
The Eastern Mediterranean and Turkey
According to the same statement released, in another of his interventions on the growing tension in the Eastern Mediterranean, Yiorgos Loucaides underlined that Turkey is attempting to impose its hegemonic aspirations in the region through its ongoing provocative and illegal actions.
This criminal behavior, he added, is contrary to the sovereign rights of other countries, especially Greece and Cyprus, and violates international law, in particular the UN Law of the Sea. It is, he continued, a destabilizing factor that damages the goal of building conditions of peace, security and prosperity for the peoples of the region. The illegal agreement concluded between Turkey and the Al Saraj government in Libya, Yiorgos Loucaides stated, violates the sovereign rights of both Greece and Egypt, while Turkey’s ongoing illegal drilling in the continental shelf and Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus constitutes a flagrant violation of the sovereign rights of the Republic of Cyprus for the exploitation of its natural resources.
Rejecting the well-known claims put forth by Turkish MP’s about the alleged protection (by Turkey) of the interests of the Turkish Cypriots, Yiorgos Loucaides stressed that the rights of the Turkish Cypriots as an integral part of the Cypriot people are fully respected, but Turkey, which as an occupying power, continues to this day to violate the independence and sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus, has no rights in Cyprus and its Exclusive Economic Zone whatsoever.
The Cypriot MP wondered how the Turkish government can claim that it is working for the solution of the Cyprus problem, when it acts in ways that are undermining the agreed framework for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation and when it is colonalising the fenced off city of Famagusta, in violation of the relevant Resolutions of the United Nations.
“These provocative actions by Turkey are hampering whatever efforts are underway for the resumption of the negotiation procedure for the achievement of a solution to the Cyprus problem,” Yiorgos Loucaides pointed out. He called on the international community and the member states of the Council of Europe, in particular, to take decisive action against the escalating Turkish aggression and to exert their influence so as to put an immediate end to these actions that go beyond the framework of international law and good neighborly relations. .
