Turkey’s actions in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus are illegal, reprehensible and unacceptable

Statement by the General Secretary of AKEL A.Kyprianou

AKEL C.C. Press Office, 23 April 2020, Nicosia

The government’s actions to counter Turkey’s provocative actions are moving in the right direction, but they are not going to solve the problem. I would like to recall what happened in the past when the Republic of Cyprus called on the European Union to react against Turkey and the Turkish companies involved in the illegal drilling within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Cyprus. Unfortunately, the EU’s reaction was very lukewarm and was extremely belated.

We reiterate that when the pandemic ends, President Anastasiades needs to take initiatives aiming for the immediate resumption of substantive negotiations for a solution of the Cyprus problem and act with consistency and adherence to the agreed solution, within the framework of the relevant UN resolutions, the High-Level agreements, international law and the principles on which the EU was founded on. This will be the solution to address the other problems too which Turkey is illegally causing in an unprecedented and unparalleled provocative manner.