President Erhürman criticises EU Commission President von der Leyen

President Tufan Erhürman has criticized the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen for the complete absence of any reference to Turkish Cypriots in speech delivered at a recent ceremony.

In a written statement, Erhürman noted that he carefully reviewed Von der Leyen’s address and said that it did not contain a single mention of Turkish Cypriots.

“For us, the appropriate approach is clear, we should not ignore the fact that we are being ignored; rather we should demonstrate this in every relevant forum so that relations can be based on the right foundation” Erhürman stated.

Stating that they have conveyed to all EU and EU member state officials they met that “there is also a need for confidence-building measures between the EU and Turkish Cypriots,” and that this will be exactly what they will continue to emphasize in future meetings.

Erhürman continued: “We have already expressed our views on the political dimension of the issue and the anomaly regarding Cyprus within the EU on many occasions. We continue to explain these to everyone we meet and I will not reiterate them here. However, I believe that even EU officials reconsidering this speech text alone would be enlightening in terms of understanding many of the points we are trying to convey.

Concluding his remarks, President Erhürman reaffirmed that the Turkish Cypriot people have always existed on the island, continue to exist, and will remain there. He emphasized that their commitment to patience and dialogue is matched by a firm determination that must not be underestimated.