Özgürgün: “If Turkey stays out of EU, the EU has no right to intervene in the TRNC”

Prime Minister Hüseyin Özgürgün made a statement to AA correspondent following the European Parliament’s resolution regarding Turkey. He said: “We have stated before that the EU has no right to intervene in the TRNC before Turkey becomes a member of the EU. If Turkey stays out of the EU, the EU will have no right to comment on the TRNC. No-one has the right to lead the Turkish Cypriots into an environment without Turkey, and to make them a minority of Greece and South Cyprus.”

Furthermore, in his statement, Özgürgün said that Greek Cypriot side is negotiating in front of the international community to change some aspects, and added that the Greek Cypriots have never considered the Turkish Cypriots as equals, or accepted the existence and guarantorship of Turkey.

Highlighting that Greek Cypriot side have said “no” to all comprehensive solution plans of the United Nations for about 50 years, a stance repeated most recently at the Mont Pelerin summit, Özgürgün said, “The international community never blame the Greek Cypriots who say “no” to all plans, but they seem to have a longstanding bias that the Turkish Cypriot side and Turkey are guilty. Negotiations cannot continue forever. If a solution is not reached before the end of 2016, we should continue as the TRNC. We can return to the negotiating table but we should not speak on the same issues starting from the beginning.”

Noting that the EU will never become a side in Cyprus, Özgürgün said that the EU will have no right to intervene in the TRNC before Turkey becomes a member of the EU.