Turkish President Erdoğan: “Those who trivialise Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean, have started to approach the table of diplomacy”
22 September, 2020Support to Erdogan’s call to EU from Prime Minister Tatar
23 September, 2020Criticising the statement of “occupier” by the Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou regarding Turkey, Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay stated that the solution of the Cyprus issue depends on Greece to return to reality by giving up the Megalo Idea. Oktay also said that the statement of the Greek President is ridiculous and a vain propaganda effort and provocation. In his statement to an AA correspondent, Fuat Oktay evaluated the statements of Sakellaropoulou regarding Turkey before her visit to the Greek Cypriot side of Cyprus and during her contacts in the island.
Oktay stated that it would be useful to remind Sakellaropoulou, who made these statements, of some historical facts, which lacked historical awareness and are tainted with false propaganda and provocation.
Oktay said: “The country that destroyed the partnership state in Cyprus, which was established with the 1959-60 agreements for the sake of racist and fascist dreams, is Greece. It is also Greece which sent Nikos Sampson, the head of the Colonels Junta, to the island on July 15, 1974, had a coup, proclaimed a ‘Hellenic Republic’, and supported all kinds of armed attacks to destroy the Turkish Cypriot people with a racist approach and to eliminate their political will.
Turkey saved the Turkish people from massacre upon the invitation of the Turkish Cypriots by using its guarantor rights under the Zurich and London Agreements and thus Turkey intervened in a completely legitimate way regarding Cyprus on July 20, 1974.
If there has not been any war and conflict since 1974 in Cyprus, this is only thanks to Turkey. Turkey has given active support to all efforts for a solution on Cyprus so far. However, these efforts failed because of the attitude of the Greek Cypriot side, on the contrary Greece never played a positive role in these processes, and they have made efforts to maintain the current status quo, that is, the deadlock.”
Oktay said: “In the light of all the inconclusive efforts so far, Turkey understands that the issue of a permanent solution in Cyprus is for a structure with two sovereign states where the rights and laws of the Turkish and Greek Cypriot sides are observed. Greece’s understanding is to drive the Turkish Cypriots from the island and have a single communal state structure. It is a deadlock. The solution of the Cyprus issue depends on Greece to return to reality by giving up the Megalo Idea.”