Özersay: “Anastasiades cannot decide by himself on how to share the wealth, he has no such right”

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Kudret Özersay reacted to the Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades’ statement on the issue of the natural gas wealth and said that Anastasiades cannot decide by himself on how to share the wealth, he has no such right.

Özersay made a statement following the words of Anastasiades that the natural gas wealth would be shared with the Turkish Cypriots by one quarter.

In his statement, Özersay said “I am calling Anastasiades, he’d better stop talking as if he is the sole owner of this natural richness. If he really has the intention to share, let’s sit at the table and start to talk about what and how we will share as soon as possible. He cannot act as the owner of the resources and determine the way, we are the co-owner of these resources and this ratio should be determined together”.

Özersay also pointed out the need to sit down and negotiate for a general set-up if sharing in the context of a partnership will not materialise and added ‘If sharing is not going to be within the framework of a partnership due to the mentality of the Greek Cypriot side, then we need to resolve it. In this context, we have to put everything forward in the context of usurping rights, lost and unfair matters that have lasted for years, and we must share this richness in the light of fair principles by taking all these past losses into account. This is not just a matter of population’.