Turkish National Security Council: “Rights and interests of TRNC and Turkey will be protected”
19 July, 2017Çavusoğlu participates in the evaluation meeting at the Presidency
19 July, 2017Turkish Republic Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has said that the TRNC’s current international embargoes cannot continue forever, and there will be different processes after today.
Cavuşoğlu spoke during a joint press conference, following a meeting with Foreign Minister of Estonia Sven Mikser.
Answering a question about the unilateral drilling activities of South Cyprus, Çavuşoğlu said, “The unilateral steps taken by the Greek Cypriot Administration are not right, because the Turkish Cypriot people have rights in the reserves around the island of Cyprus.”
Çavuşoğlu said “EU countries should not hide behind the Cyprus problem anymore. After the referendum held in 2004, the EU did not keep its promise. The embargoes and restrictions imposed on the TRNC should be lifted as soon as possible. This is not fair. In this era, one side has been made a member of the EU but the Turkish Cypriot side is still under isolation and pressure. This is not right”.
Responding to a question on whether he will make a call to the Greek Cypriot Administration over their unilateral natural gas exploration, Estonia’s Foreign Minister Mikser said that he will encourage the EU to speak with one voice regarding this issue during Estonia’s European Council Presidency.