Çavuşoğlu: “It is necessary to be pragmatic in the Eastern Mediterranean”

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu met with journalists in Turkey’s EU Permanent Representative Office following his meetings conducted in Brussels.

Answering the question regarding the invitation of the TRNC to the conference on the Eastern Mediterranean, Çavuşoğlu said that they also discussed the Cyprus issue with the EU officials and added, “We want everyone to participate in the conference. Not only countries with coasts in the Eastern Mediterranean, but all Mediterranean countries should attend. Countries with companies in the Eastern Mediterranean can also participate.”

Emphasising that they want a fair sharing of energy resources in the Eastern Mediterranean, Çavuşoğlu stated that it is not a political issue for both sides on the island to participate in the conference on the Eastern Mediterranean, adding that “If one side will not participate, it does not make sense for the other side to participate. The interlocutor of the Greek Cypriot side in revenue sharing is the TRNC, the Turkish Cypriot people.”

Çavuşoğlu said, “Instead of an approach of getting to know or not knowing each other, we have to be practical and pragmatic. Perhaps we can bring them in a separate format, but both sides need to participate in revenue sharing.”

Reminding that Turkey-EU relations had been a troubled year in 2020, Çavuşoğlu said “We, as Turkey, took the necessary steps to protect the interests of the TRNC and the Turkish people.”

Indicating that there was progress for the 5+UN (United Nations) informal meeting proposed by Turkey on Cyprus, Çavuşoğlu said: “We received an invitation from the UN Secretary-General. We will meet in New York at the end of February or the beginning of March as the 3 guarantor countries and the UN. The EU also said that they want to participate in these meetings as an observer. Of course, the EU can participate in all negotiations as an observer. There is no problem in their participation, but as we have told them, the EU has completely neglected the TRNC and the Turkish Cypriot community since Crans-Montana. There has been no contact and we need to regain their trust. Unfortunately, in all processes, the EU only defended the rights of the Greek Cypriot side, and ignored the rights of the Turkish Cypriot side. That’s why we told them that this trust should be regained. In principle, there is no problem for us in their participation.”