Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu continues diplomacy over Cyprus on call
5 April, 2017Özgürgün: Greek Cypriot’s Enosis decision designed “to bring darkness and conflict back to the future of Cyprus”
6 April, 2017Speaking on a private TV channel, Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün said that the negotiations process can only be resumed in Geneva from where it was stalled, and only after the Enosis decision taken by the Greek Cypriot parliament is overturned.
The Prime Minister argued that that the Greek Cypriot side’s decision to commemorate the Enosis plebiscite was a confirmation of their intention not to return to the negotiating table while the five-party process in Geneva was on hold., Özgürgün said that the Enosis decision was a clear statement which actually meant, “we do not have any intention to negotiate or reach an agreement; our intention is to annex the island to Greece and we are continuing negotiations unwillingly.”
The Prime Minister noted that President Akıncı did not leave the negotiating table, that both the Greek Cypriot side and Greece wanted to postpone the process, and that the UN and Special Adviser Espen Barth Eide showed an insincere stance with regards to this matter, accusing the Turkish Cypriot side for the failure of talks. Özgürgün added that if the Greek Cypriot Parliament shifts decision-making power to commemorate Enosis to the Ministry of Education, the situation could be described as ‘tragicomic’.