The head of EU foreign policy criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s remarks when the town was reopened. Varosha In Cyprus.
On Tuesday, the EU’s highest diplomat Josep Borrell stated that Erdogan and the Turkish Cypriot leader Elsin Tatar announced plans to further open this abandoned and abandoned island since Ankara invaded the island in 1974. Regarding the former resort of a ghost town constitutes an “unacceptable unilateral decision.”
“The EU once again emphasizes the need to avoid unilateral actions and new provocations that violate international law, which may exacerbate tensions on the island and damage the return to the negotiating table for negotiations on a comprehensive settlement. Cyprus Problem,” Borrell said in a statement.
He added that the EU Group will monitor how the closed-door consultations on Cyprus held at the UN Security Council on Wednesday will proceed and “decide the next steps accordingly.”
Erdogan vowed that Varosha’s life will restart because he took an uncompromising stance during his visit to the 47th anniversary of the divided island of Cyprus.
The eastern coastal resort of Varosha, once a playground for celebrities and known as the “Treasure of the Mediterranean”, has now become a walled ghost town, and luxury hotels have been abandoned. The invasion emptied the Greek Cypriot residents of the town.
The Turkish army occupied a third of the northern part of Cyprus in response to the failure of the coup in Nicosia, which was designed to GreeceThe island was subsequently divided between the Greek Cypriot Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, the latter being recognized only by Ankara.
The Tatars on Erdogan’s side announced the second phase of the expansion of Varosha’s reopening plan.
The Turkish army restored public access to parts of the Varosha waterfront last year, and Demokratias Avenue, a major arterial road, has been cleared.
The internationally recognized government of Nicosia emphasized that Varosha is “a red line that cannot be crossed” and strongly condemned Erdogan’s visit to northern Cyprus in November last year.
In his speech on Tuesday, Erdogan insisted on a two-state solution to the island, but the Republic of Cyprus and Brussels firmly rejected the idea.
Borrell said in the statement: “The EU remains fully committed to the comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus issue on the basis of a politically equal dual-region, bi-ethnic, and federal basis.”
