President Tatar: “Greek Cypriots continually abuse the EU membership”

In an online panel entitled “5+UN Geneva Meetings and the Vision for a Two-State Solution Based on Sovereign Equality” organised by the Department of International Relations in cooperation with İzmir Ege University International Relations Society, President Ersin Tatar pointed out that the Greek Cypriots continually abused the EU membership.

In his speech, President Tatar said, “We argue that two separate states can only come together with cooperation in Cyprus and there will be no future with the idea of a federation and a united Cyprus”.

Reminding that the Annan Plan process was held in 2004, the Turkish Cypriots voted “yes” for the plan in order to ensure peace, stability and communication with the world in good faith, but the Greek Cypriots voted “no” for the plan, President Tatar said “Despite the article of ‘the island of Cyprus cannot be a member of an organisation in which Turkey and Greece are not members together’ the Greek Cypriot side was allowed to join the European Union unilaterally.”

President Tatar continued as follows:

“The Greek Cypriots have always shaped a federal-based understanding in respect of themselves and they continue their aim of making Cyprus completely a Greek island. We expressed in Geneva that as the people of the TRNC we demand our sovereign equality. We are a separate people, we have a separate history, we are a completely different world with our ties and energy resources and we have been ruling ourselves for 60 years, therefore we have sovereign right and, if an agreement will be reached, the approval of both sides is needed”.